Saxonburg’s II-VI stock plunges
Shares tumble 19 percent after $3.2B Finisar merger deal announced
Engineered materials and optoelectronic component maker II-VI Inc. is acquiring Sunnyvale, Calif.based Finisar Corp. in a cash and stock transaction valued at $3.2 billion, the companies jointly announced on Friday.
The deal values Finisar at $26 a share for a premium of 37.7 percent to Finisar’s closing price on Thursday.
Finisar shareholders would own about 31 percent of the combined company.
Investors sent II-VI shares down almost 19 percent after the announcement, closing Friday at $38.01, down $8.87.
Together, II-VI and Finisar will employ more than 24,000 people in 70 locations worldwide after the transaction closes, which is anticipated in mid-2019, pending regulatory approvals.
“Disruptive megatrends driven by innovative uses of lasers and other engineered materials present huge growth opportunities for both of our companies,” II-VI President and CEO Vincent D. Mattera said in a statement. “Together, we believe that we will be better strategically positioned to play a strong leadership role in the emerging markets of 5G, 3D sensing, cloud computing, electric and autonomous vehicles and advanced microelectronics manufacturing.”
Among Finisar’s customers is computer and cell phone giant Apple Inc., which said last year it would spend $390 million to fund Finisar’s laser technology. The technology is key to iPhone features such as facial recognition.
Cisco Systems Inc., Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. and Huawei Technologies Co. are other Finisar customers.
Finisar was founded in 1988 and markets optical solutions for the communications industry. The company has annual revenue of $1.3 billion and 12,500 employees. Saxonburg-based II-VI was founded in 1971 and has $1.1 billion in revenue and 11,500 employees.