Vancouver, WA, USA/Lohja, Finland, October 8, 2007 nLIGHT Corporation, a leading manufacturer of high power semiconductor lasers today announced the acquisition of LIEKKI Corporation, a leading company in designing and manufacturing optical fibers. The transaction included an exchange of shares in which the present owners of LIEKKI the British Tamares Group, Finnish Industry Investment Ltd and the European Stratos Ventures become shareholders in nLIGHT. Further terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
“This is a very important acquisition that integrates critical technology for the rapidly expanding markets for diode and fiber lasers” stated Scott Keeney nLIGHT’s President and CEO. “Combining the nLIGHT and LIEKKI product portfolios will bring compelling solutions to our industry. We highly value the LIEKKI team and their operational excellence. Our plan is to invest in the Lohja, Finland operation as our fiber center of excellence.”
“LIEKKI brings long experience in active fibers and modules, a patented Direct Nanoparticle Deposition (DND) active fiber technology, and a manufacturing facility that scales efficiently to the growing market across multiple applications,” said LIEKKI’s outgoing Managing Director, Per Stenius. “nLIGHT’s team has extensive experience in diodes and lasers making them complementary with our leading fiber technology. nLIGHT also has the backing of leading Silicon Valley venture capital investors, providing crucial support as the new entity pursues accelerated growth. We see this move as a major step forward in LIEKKI’s strategic plan.”
Dr. Stenius has led LIEKKI since 2003 and will now step aside to pursue other interests but will continue as an advisor. William Willson, previously VP of Sales and Marketing will take over as Managing Director.
“This international combination is particularly attractive because of the rapid growth prospects for components and modules for fiber lasers and amplifiers.” says Director Mika Räsänen of Finnish Industry Investment Ltd. FII made its first-round investment in LIEKKI in 2004 and a follow-on investment in 2006.
About nLIGHT nLIGHT is a privately held company established in 2000 that designs and manufactures industry leading high-power semiconductor lasers. nLIGHT offers a broad range of diode lasers for customers in industrial, medical, defense and consumer applications. nLIGHT has state-of-the-art manufacturing in over 100,000 sq. ft. of facilities in Vancouver, WA, Hillsboro, OR, and Shanghai, China. nLIGHT is a leader in key photonics markets and was named the fastest-growing company in the Northwest US by Deloitte and Touche in 2007. www.nlight.net
About LIEKKI Corporation LIEKKI Corporation designs, manufactures and markets specialty optical fibers and fiber subassemblies (optical engine modules) for fiber amplifiers and lasers using its proprietary Direct Nanoparticle Deposition technology. LIEKKI products are used in industrial, aerospace, medical, military and telecom applications. www.liekki.com
About Finnish Industry Investment Ltd Finnish Industry Investment Ltd is a government-owned investment company. The company invests the proceeds accrued from the privatization of state-owned companies in promoting the growth and internationalization of Finnish businesses. Finnish Industry Investment invests in capital funds and also directly in companies. The targets are in all sectors. The company’s investments and investment commitments amount to some MEUR 430.
www.teollisuussijoitus.fi
More information:
William Willson, Managing Director, LIEKKI Corporation
+1 301 760 0315, william.willson (at) liekki.com
Scott Keeney, President and CEO, nLIGHT Corporation
+1 360 566 4460, scott.keeney (at) nLIGHT.net
Mika Räsänen, Director, Finnish Industry Investment Ltd
+358 50 352 9984, mika.rasanen (at) industryinvestment.com