Optoelectronic component producer II-VI Inc. announced on November 9th that it is going to acquire Finisar, the supplier of optical communication products for Apple with a deal worth US$3.2 billion cash and stock.

The acquisition will combine the two lasers and optical components companies and enable them to leverage their expertise to provider a wider range of products for applications including autonomous vehicles and 3D sensing. Through the merger, II-VI aims to strengthen its business in optical communications for the coming 5G era. Moreover, the two companies are going to integrate their technologies in semiconductor laser design and manufacturing to boost the development in 3D sensing and LiDAR. The merger also allows II-VI to further explore new opportunities and applications in the market with a broader product portfolio of differentiated engineered materials, according to the company.

Dr. Vincent D. Mattera, Jr., President and CEO, II-VI Incorporated, said, “In communications, materials processing, consumer electronics and automotive, we expect that the combination with Finisar will allow us to leverage our combined technology and intellectual property in InP, GaAs, SiC, GaN, SiP and diamond to achieve faster time to market, cost and scale. Together, we believe that we will be better strategically positioned to play a strong leadership role in the emerging markets of 5G, 3D sensing, cloud computing, electric and autonomous vehicles, and advanced microelectronics manufacturing.”

Finisar has provided its VCSEL products in Apple for iPhone’s Face ID system. In December 2017, Apple invested US$ 390 million to Finisar to secure its VCSEL supply and exclude other competitors.

Michael Hurlston, Finisar’s CEO, said, “We are extremely excited to combine Finisar with II-VI and together create a leader in photonics and compound semiconductors across all of the markets we serve. We are confident that the growth potential for the combined company is substantial, and we believe that our respective shareholders will be able to enjoy significant potential for value creation when the transaction is completed.”

The transaction is expected to close in the middle of 2019.