Acquisitions

Since our Initial Public Offering in June 2000, EXFO has completed several acquisitions. Namely, in December 2000, we acquired Burleigh Instruments, Inc. (renamed EXFO Burleigh Products Group Inc.) for its wavelength measurement instruments and nanopositioning alignment systems, which allowed us to bolster growth in the optical component manufacturing market.

We then added EFOS Inc. (renamed EXFO Photonic Solutions Inc.) in March 2001 for its precision light-based, adhesive spot-curing technology. We have since exited the optical component manufacturing automation business and EXFO Burleigh’s operations have been mostly consolidated with those of EXFO Photonic Solutions in Toronto, Canada.

In November 2001, we acquired Avantas Networks Corporation (renamed EXFO Protocol Inc.), a supplier of protocol-testing and optical-network performance management equipment for network service providers (NSPs). This transaction was highly strategic because it enabled us to combine optical and protocol test modules inside a single field-portable test platform to help our customers increase revenues and reduce operating costs.

In October 2002, our wholly-owned subsidiary, EXFO Gnubi, purchased substantially all the assets of gnubi communications, L.P., a supplier of multichannel telecom and datacom testing solutions for the system manufacturer market. These strategic acquisitions, which were consolidated in Montreal, Canada, in fiscal 2004, enabled us to more than double our addressable market, as we expanded from optical testing to protocol testing applications, and to offer a more complete line of test solutions to our customers.

During the second quarter of 2006, we announced and subsequently completed the acquisition of substantially all the assets of Consultronics Limited. Based in Toronto, Canada, and with operations in Southampton, United Kingdom, and Budapest, Hungary, Consultronics is a leading supplier of test equipment for copper-based broadband access networks. This acquisition is a strategic initiative to position EXFO as a genuine one-stop shop for broadband access and triple-play testing, since it greatly complements our market leadership in the FTTx market.

In March 2008, we acquired all the shares issued and outstanding of Navtel Communications Inc., a privately held company in Toronto, Canada. Navtel is a leading provider of Internet protocol multimedia subsystem (IMS) and voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP) test solutions for network equipment manufacturers (NEMs) and NSP labs. This acquisition fits strategically with our long-term plan to deliver strong growth in our Protocol test business, and Navtel’s cutting-edge technology strengthens our offering, enabling us to expand into the high-growth IMS and VoIP test markets, whose technologies are currently in their early stages.

Then, in April 2008, we also acquired Brix Networks Inc., a privately held company from the Boston, MA area. Brix Networks offers VoIP and IPTV service testing across the three areas that most affect the success of a real-time service: signaling quality (signaling path performance), delivery quality (media transport performance) and content quality (overall quality of experience). This acquisition represents another step in EXFO’s long-term growth strategy, enabling us to further expand into the fast-growing service-assurance market.

The combination of Brix Networks, Navtel Communications and EXFO will create a new force in the test and monitoring marketplace with full technology lifecycle coverage for NSPs.

For additional information on these latest acquisitions, feel free to read the Navtel and Brix presentations, in PDF format .

In February 2009, we announced the acquisition of PicoSolve, Inc., a privately held company from Gothenburg, Sweden. PicoSolve provides ultra-high-speed optical sampling oscilloscopes to NEMs involved in the design and production of next-generation optical networks, while NSPs will also require such high-end test equipment for their deployment initiatives. This acquisition also brings to EXFO a rich intellectual property portfolio with patents that will be leveraged over time.

In March 2010, we acquired NetHawk Oyj, a privately held company headquartered in Oulu, Finland. Key products include protocol analyzers for testing, troubleshooting and optimizing 2G, 3G, 4G/LTE and core networks as well as high-performance network simulators for load generation, regression and functional testing. This acquisition also brings a 2G, 3G, and 4G/LTE service assurance solution focused on testing the core and radio access networks of a wireless communications infrastructure.

Detailed financial information is also available from our Investor Relations section where you can browse various documents or download our latest annual report.

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