AFC acquires Marconi access business

Advanced Fibre Communications announced it would acquire Marconi’s North American access business for $240 million in cash.

The deal, which will close this quarter and doesn’t require shareholder approval, gives AFC a potentially huge boost in the fiber-to-the-premises market. Marconi, which had stated last year it wanted out of the North American access business, is BellSouth’s primary supplier, and the RBOC accounts for more than half of its revenue.

“It rounds out our fiber offering with fiber to the home and fiber to the curb,” John Schofield, chairman, president and CEO of AFC, said during a conference call. “We have strengths in customer area where they have not penetrated. It’s also strategic from a customers and product standpoint.”

Marconi’s North American unit, officially North American Access, has 247 employees with more than half of those in the technical areas. Almost all of them will become AFC employees when the transaction closes, Schofield said.

Initially, AFC will continue develop both platforms. However that likely will change over time.

“There is a long term objective to evolve to a next generation platform that likely will call upon the best of both platforms,” Schofield said.