DLA Piper has advised Finisar Corporation ('Finisar') on the acquisition of u²t Photonics AG ('u²t Photonics') as part of a complex cross-border transaction. Through the acquisition of 100 per cent of the shares in u²t Photonics, Finisar is now in a position to extend its portfolio with the addition of essential high-speed receivers and photodetectors as key future technologies. Finisar and u²t Photonics have previously collaborated on the Mach-Zehnder modulators for 100G coherent transponders. The addition of these technologies and products in the field of receivers, photodiodes and modulators enables Finisar to supply the world market with a comprehensive range of optical components.

The DLA Piper team was led by partner Dr Nils Krause (Corporate, Hamburg) and included partners Dr Ludger Giesberts (Litigation & Regulatory, Cologne), Dr Kai Bodenstedt (Employment, Hamburg), Robert Hofbauer (Finance & Projects, Frankfurt), Dr Burkhard Führmeyer (Intellectual Property & Technology, Cologne), counsels Dr Thilo Streit (Litigation & Regulatory, Cologne), together with associates Christopher Albien (Corporate, Hamburg), Dr Henriette Norda (Employment, Hamburg), Andreas Tiedge (Litigation & Regulatory, Cologne), Max Wenger (Intellectual Property & Technology, Cologne) and Dr Annemarie Bloss (Intellectual Property & Technology, Hamburg) in Germany.

In the UK, Andrew Davies (Corporate, Leeds), Adam Hartley (Employment, London), Mark Vipan (Intellectual Property & Technology, Leeds), Laura De Graff (Corporate, Leeds), Jessica Smith (Employment, Leeds) and Rebecca Piper (Intellectual Property & Technology, Leeds) advised.

Finisar is a global leader in the field of fibre-optic subsystems and components which enable high-speed voice, video and data communication for networking, storage, wireless and cable television applications. For 25 years, Finisar has been supplying critical optical technologies to system manufacturers in order to meet the increasing demands for network bandwidths. Finisar is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, USA. The company is listed and employs more than 8,000 people worldwide