“This is an exciting day for Infinera, said Tom Fallon, Infinera CEO. “The acquisition of Coriant is a major milestone, expanding the scope of our vertical integration strategy across a powerful suite of packet optical solutions for our customers. The acquisition immediately strengthens our ability to serve a global customer base and accelerates delivery of the innovative solutions our customers demand.”
The deal was subject to the terms in the definitive unit purchase agreement that was announced back in July. In relation to the purchase, Infinera issued 20,975,384 shares of its common stock and will pay an combined amount of cash consisting of approximately $230 million, of which approximately $154 million was paid upon closing.
“Coriant already delivers strong technical value across our network, and we expect a stronger Infinera that will enhance and satisfy the transport needs of the customers,” said Cayetano Carbajo Martín, chief technology officer, Telefónica. “With the combined products and solutions from both companies, we look forward to more innovation from Infinera both for packet data and transmission.”
Infinera says that the acquisition will significantly increase its revenue while at the same time expanding Infinera’s customer base to serve nine of the top ten global network operators and the top six global internet content providers.
“GTT’s clients expect industry-leading, differentiated network infrastructure solutions to ensure their networks are reliable and secure. We welcome Infinera’s acquisition of Coriant which enables Infinera to provide a broader range of high-performance network infrastructure capabilities,” said Paul Monteiro, SVP of operations and engineering at GTT.
The combination of the two companies positions Infinera to deliver a powerful suite of innovative, end-to-end packet optical network solutions for communications service providers and internet content providers.
“The consolidation of both companies marks a significant milestone for the industry. As two industry pioneers, we believe strongly in their potential to deliver game-changing, innovative technology that will power the future of networks,” said Buddy Bayer, chief network officer at Windstream.
The acquisition of Coriant adds approximately 2,100 employees, over 1,600 patents and more than 600 customers globally to Infinera, the company also confirms that the integration planning for the combined company is on schedule.
“We are excited to see Infinera’s acquisition of Coriant and anticipate that not only will we benefit from their combined innovation, but also their enhanced customer service as we invest in expanding our network footprint over the next five years,” said Conrad Mallon, chief technical architect at SSE Enterprise Telecoms. “It will be interesting to see how the orchestration and software strategy of the combined organisations develops and how they contribute to the world of SDN and NFV.”
