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Hitachi Forms Optical Components Venture, Called OpNext

Tokyo, Japan - September 19, 2000
Semiconductor Business News

Hitachi Ltd. today announced the transfer of its fiber optic components business to a new joint venture, called OpNext Inc., which is being set up with U.S. and Japanese investors to pursue fast-growing applications in optical data and telecommunications networks.

Hitachi said it is joining Los Angeles-based Clarity Partners, a private equity firm, and Marubeni Group, a Japanese trading house, to form OpNext, which will be based in the U.S. As part of the transaction, the two investment partners have created an equal partnership, called Clarity Group, which will invest up to $450 million in OpNext to help position the venture as a leader in optical component markets, said Hitachi.

"To create this new company and to partner with the expertise and resources of Clarity Group allows us to expand globally and to enhance our position as a world leader in the fiber optic business," said Etsuhiko Shoyama, president of Hitachi. "We are implementing our medium-term business plan--the 'i.e.Hitachi Plan'--that we established last autumn. We are prioritizing management resources to achieve a high-profit structure, and the fiber optic component business is one of our most important and core businesses.

"This partnership is the right step in the best direction," he added.

Hitachi's Fiber Optic Components Business Unit has been part of the company's Telecommunications & Information Infrastructure Systems Group. The unit has been supplying laser diode modules, transmitters, and receivers for OC-48/STM-16s and OC-192/STM-64s networks. Its customers are among the world's largest telecommunications and data networking systems suppliers, according to Hitachi.

OpNext's U.S. headquarters is now set up in Beverly Hills, Calif. The company's Japanese subsidiary is based in Yokohama City, Japan, with design and manufacturing of optical components currently part of Hitachi.

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