Calix to Acquire FTTH Assets From Ericsson

PETALUMA, CA - Calix and Ericsson announced the signing of a definitive agreement under which Calix will acquire Ericsson's fiber access assets. The two companies also signed a global reseller agreement, under which Calix will become Ericsson's preferred global partner for broadband access applications.

The acquisition brings together Ericsson's GPON solution, which is deployed by major service providers worldwide (including AT&T in the United States), with North America's leading access portfolio. Ericsson is the world’s largest provider of telecommunications technology and services; Calix is a leading provider of fiber and DSL access equipment to Tier-2 and Tier-3 telcos in North America. Ericsson's fiber access assets expected to be included are its EDA 1500 GPON solution and complementary ONT portfolio.

Calix will offer employment to as many as 61 U.S.-based employees of Ericsson and will take over support of the acquired products. The acquisition transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2012. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. After close of the transaction, Calix expects operations related to the acquired assets to be accretive to non-GAAP earnings per share.

Ericsson to Resell Calix FTTH and VDSL2 Solutions Worldwide
The global reseller agreement between the two companies allows Ericsson to sell Calix systems and software as its preferred fiber and VDSL2 access solution in 180 countries worldwide. This preferred partnership becomes effective upon the close of the acquisition and remains effective for three years.

"This partnership provides Calix, already North America's fiber access deployment leader, with an extensive new global reseller channel, while our acquisition of Ericsson's fiber access portfolio delivers powerful new complements to our industry-leading Unified Access portfolio," said Carl Russo, president and CEO of Calix. "This partnership, built on a clear alignment of corporate strategy and direction, allows Ericsson to fully leverage its strengths in wireless and end-to-end services while relying on Calix to provide innovation and expertise in fixed-line broadband access. We are excited about the opportunity to assume responsibility for development and support of Ericsson's fiber access business and look forward to working closely with Ericsson and its broad customer base as a preferred global partner."

"We believe that this partnership will provide our existing fiber access customers with world-class support and maintenance, and an expanded portfolio of access systems and software from a leading company totally focused on access," said Jan Häglund, vice president and head of product area IP and broadband at Ericsson.