Huntsville’s Adtran and Munich-based Adva will merge, with the new company retaining Adtran’s name and headquarters in Alabama and Germany.
MarketWatch valued the all-stock deal at $931.1 million.
The merger will “create a leading global, scaled provider of end-to-end fiber networking solutions for communications service provider, enterprise and government customers,” according to a press release, combining Adtran’s leadership in fiber access with Adva’s leadership in data center interconnect, business ethernet and network solutions.
“We are in the early stages of an unprecedented investment cycle in fiber connectivity, especially in the U.S. and Europe, fueled by the demand for last-mile fiber access and middle-mile transport to provide high-speed connectivity to homes, businesses and future 5G infrastructure,” said Adtran Chairman and CEO Thomas Stanton. “By joining forces, our combined firm’s portfolio will better position us to capitalize on this highly compelling global opportunity. We expect the transaction will create significant long-term value for both companies’ stakeholders by increasing our scale and improving our ability to serve as a trusted supplier for customers worldwide.”
The merger will “leverage the complementary nature” of the two company’s customers, said Brian Protiva, Adva CEO.
“We are excited to join forces and create a world-class team with exceptional technology expertise and customer focus,” he said. “Our shared vision and passion for innovative networking solutions will benefit our customers through an enhanced value proposition, including a fully integrated end-to-end architecture for enterprise, access and metro core markets.”
Completion of the transaction is expected to be during the second or third quarter of 2022. The combined company will be named Adtran Holdings Inc., with global headquarters in Huntsville and European headquarters in Munich.