JDSU has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Network Solutions communications test business of Agilent, including the unit's innovative Long Term Evolution (LTE), or 4G, network verification and deployment products, for $165 million in cash. The parties expect to close the transaction, which is subject to receipt of customary regulatory approvals, in the June calendar quarter 2010.
The Agilent unit being acquired by JDSU had annual revenue for its fiscal year ending October 31, 2009 of $162 million from global sales of service assurance monitoring systems, drive test and protocol test instruments used by leading service providers and equipment manufacturers worldwide. JDSU expects the acquisition to be accretive to non-GAAP earnings per share on a quarterly basis and for the full fiscal year starting in fiscal 2011.
The acquisition is said to significantly expand JDSU's communications test position, including the emerging market for LTE/4G solutions required by the dozens of wireless service providers and network equipment manufacturers upgrading to this next-generation technology. LTE will provide much higher bandwidth to support mobile data and video applications on handsets, notebooks, portable readers and gaming devices. More than 50 wireless service providers worldwide have announced plans to deploy LTE, including such companies as AT&T, Bell Canada, China Telecom, China Mobile, T-Mobile Germany, NTT DoCoMo and Verizon Wireless. Test products are used throughout the LTE development, deployment and operational life-cycle.
"This acquisition establishes JDSU as a market leader in wireless test instruments and systems and enables us to provide customers with new innovative LTE solutions as they deploy this next-generation mobile data technology," said Tom Waechter, president and chief executive officer of JDSU. "JDSU gains market-leading technology and a talented employee team that will fit well with JDSU's customer-centric culture."
The Agilent unit being acquired by JDSU has approximately 700 employees with business operations located in Colorado, the U.K., Singapore and Beijing.