LISLE, Illinois, United States-Telecommunications equipment providers Tellabs Inc. and Ciena Corp. announced they have agreed to merge in an all-stock purchase making Ciena a subsidiary of Tellabs. The transaction is valued at about US$7.1 billion.
Six-year-old Ciena, which came to the stock market in 1997, has made its mark by specializing in technology needed to construct a new generation of high-capacity telecom networks, according to the Financial Times.
Tellabs President and Chief Executive Officer Michael J. Birck told the Financial Times the deal is intended to create a company with a broader product and geographic reach to be able to compete with established international telecom equipment giants such as Alcatel and Lucent Technologies Inc.
