Sycamore , is focused on its own optical networking equipment business but will consider acquisitions as valuations continue to dip, CEO Dan Smith said.
“It’s an area of consideration for us,” Smith said told anlaysts in the company’s quarterly conference call. “The economics have to be looked at as well as the actual maturity of the technology. You have to look at where the technology is as opposed to where you want them to be.”
Smith said the valuations of telecom equipment makers are down, though he said he couldn’t be sure they had bottomed.
In recent weeks, Sycamore competitors closed acquisitions of partnerships.
For example, on Tuesday, Tellabs agreed to pay $135 million Vivace Networks to jump start its edge router and switch business. Last month, Ciena said it would pay $135 million for optical startup WaveSmith Networks.
And Lucent and Juniper recently partnered to offer joint products and services for deploying core, data, broadband and metro optical networks.
In other Sycamore news, the Chelmsford, Mass., firm has added Neenah, Wisc.-based Plexus as a contract manufacturer (CM). Neither the value nor duration of the deal was disclosed.
CFO Fraces Jewel said it chose the company because they met Sycamore’s quality and cost requirements.
