EATONTOWN, N.J. -- Opnext, Inc. (NASDAQ:OPXT), a global leader in the design and manufacturing of optical modules and components, today announced the completion of its acquisition of privately held StrataLight Communications, Inc. after the close of business on January 9, 2009.

"We are pleased to announce the completion of the acquisition of StrataLight Communications. The addition of StrataLight's 40G and 100G products, along with their expertise in subsystem design, positions Opnext as a leader in 40G solutions and will enhance our portfolio of 100G products in the future," said Harry Bosco, President and CEO of Opnext, Inc. "StrataLight is a leader in providing 40G optical subsystems to optical equipment manufacturers and has invaluable experience in optimizing transmission performance for long haul applications," continued Mr. Bosco.

"I am also pleased to welcome Shri Dodani, President and CEO of StrataLight, to the Opnext leadership team. Since we entered into the merger agreement on July 9, Shri has collaborated with Gilles Bouchard, COO of Opnext, on integration planning efforts," stated Mr. Bosco.

"The combination of StrataLight and Opnext is a natural fit as we solidify our leadership position in 40G to address our customer needs for greater bandwidth. We look forward to leveraging this combination to address the 100G frontier and maintain our leadership position at higher network speeds," said Mr. Dodani.

Effective immediately Charles J. Abbe and Phil Otto have joined the Opnext Board as Directors. Mr. Abbe retired as President and Chief Operating Officer and a director of JDS Uniphase Corporation in 2001. Mr. Otto is the Chief Executive Officer and Director of Schilling Robotics, Inc. and was a director of StrataLight.

Opnext also announced today that Harry Bosco will retire as CEO and President effective April 1, 2009 and assume the role of Chairman of Opnext's Board. Gilles Bouchard, currently Chief Operating Officer of Opnext, will replace Mr. Bosco as President and Chief Executive Officer of Opnext.

"Gilles has done a remarkable job running our business operations since he joined Opnext in November of 2007," said Mr. Bosco. "His prior experience at Hewlett Packard (NYSE:HPQ) as EVP of Operations and managing fast-growing, successful businesses has been very beneficial as we position the company for the future."

Opnext Inc. (Nasdaq: OPXT)