Alcatel-Lucent Buys Optical Specialist
Alcatel-Lucent has acquired Wavelength Selective Switch (WSS) specialist Capella Photonics Inc. for an undisclosed sum.
AlcaLu tells Light Reading the acquisition was made "late last year … to add to our overall optical capabilities." San Jose, Ca.-based Capella makes WSS products for use in ROADMs (reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexers) and optical cross connects. (See Capella Adds 1x20 WSS.)
The vendor giant isn't revealing any more than that, though, saying only that it was "a relatively small acquisition" and that news of the deal wasn't broadcast as the purchase price fell below (an unspecified) "threshold for public disclosure."
The deal would have been struck just as AlcaLu was coming to terms with significant job cuts and arranging a financial lifeline. (See Alcatel-Lucent Secures €1.6B Lifeline and AlcaLu Job Cuts to Hit 5,500.)
Capella, which was founded in 2000, raised more than $90 million in equity and debt financing between 2001 and 2011. Its most recent investment was a $20 million round from a group of investors including Black Diamond Ventures and SingTel Innov8, the corporate venture arm of Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. (SingTel). (See Capella Raises $20M.)
The acquisition leaves CoAdna Photonics Inc. as the last independent WSS specialist of any note. (See Edge ROADM Specialist Gets Bought.)
— Ray Le Maistre, International Managing Editor, Light Reading
 |
To upload an avatar photo, first complete your Disqus profile. | View the list of supported HTML tags you can use to style comments. | Please read our commenting policy. |
