Newport enters into agreement to acquire ILX Lightwave

IRVINE, USA: Newport Corp. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire ILX Lightwave Corp., a market and technology leader in high-performance test and measurement solutions for laser diodes and other photonics components.

ILX, headquartered in Bozeman, Montana, expects 2011 revenues of approximately $8 million. The company is profitable, and Newport expects the acquisition to be accretive to its earnings immediately after closing. The consideration to be paid by Newport in the transaction is $9.3 million in cash, subject to adjustment based on ILX's net assets at closing. The transaction is expected to close in January 2012.

Robert J. Phillippy, Newport's president and CEO, said: "The addition of ILX, together with our recent acquisition of Ophir Optronics, will further enhance Newport's position as the industry's leading provider of photonics instrumentation and measurement equipment. With our expanded portfolio of products and technology, we will offer our customers solutions to the most demanding applications in both the scientific and industrial markets."

ILX offers a broad range of photonics instrumentation, including laser diode controllers and drivers, temperature controllers, current sources, optical power and wavelength meters, semiconductor laser/LED burn-in, test and characterization systems, and fiber optic sources.

ILX distributes its products in North America, Europe and Asia, and its customers include Fortune 500 corporations, national research laboratories, and government and educational institutions, many of whom are already customers of Newport for other products. ILX will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Newport, and will operate as part of Newport's Photonics and Precision Technologies Division.