The business supplies broadband equipment to regional Bell operating companies, and since they operate to standards exclusive to North America, Marconi deemed them non-core. In the six months to September 30, the business reported operating profit of 3m pounds ($5.5m) on revenue of 55m pounds ($100.1m).
Marconi acquired the business when it paid $2.1bn in 1999 to buy Cleveland, Ohio-based Reltec, part of a burst of acquisitions designed to put it into the major league alongside companies such as Lucent, Nortel, and Alcatel. However, when telcos cut spending, Marconi went into a downward spiral, handing over 99.5% of its equity to bondholders.
Petaluma, California-based Advanced Fibre said the product lines of both companies are complementary. Excluding acquisition-related charges, it expects the deal to be accretive to earnings and cash flow this year.
This article is based on material originally produced by ComputerWire.
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