Nokia is set to acquire Infinera, a leading Silicon Valley optical-transmission equipment manufacturer, in a deal valued at $2.3 billion. The Finnish telecommunications giant aims to strengthen its presence in the North American optical markets with this significant acquisition.

Nokia to buy Infinera for $2.3B : Deal Overview

Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP is representing Nokia in this strategic move. Meanwhile, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC is advocating for Infinera. The companies revealed the agreement late Thursday, valuing Infinera at $6.65 per share, a 28% premium over its Wednesday closing price. Following the announcement, Infinera's stock surged about 18%, reaching $6.20 per share on Friday morning.

Infinera's Market Position

Based in San Jose, California, Infinera supplies open optical networking solutions and advanced optical semiconductors to carriers, cloud operators, governments, and other enterprises globally.

"We believe now is the right time to take a compelling inorganic step to further expand Nokia's scale in optical networks," stated Pekka Lundmark, Nokia's president and CEO. He emphasized the strategic fit of the combined businesses, noting their complementary customer, geographic, and technology profiles.

Board Approvals and Future Plans

The boards of both Nokia and Infinera have approved the acquisition, with the transaction expected to close in the first half of 2025. This combination will expand Nokia's optical networks business by 75%, according to the companies.

David Heard, CEO of Infinera, echoed Lundmark's sentiment: "We believe Nokia is an excellent partner, and together, we will have greater scale and deeper resources to set the pace of innovation and address rapidly changing customer needs at a time when optics are more important than ever."

Nokia to buy Infinera for $2.3B : Related Transactions

On the same day, Nokia announced the sale of its submarine network business, Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN), to the French state for €350 million ($375 million). Skadden also represented Nokia in this transaction. These moves align with Nokia's strategy to focus on three core areas: fixed networks, IP networks, and optical networks.

Legal Teams

The Skadden team assisting Nokia includes corporate partners Denis Klimentchenko and Lorenzo Corte; antitrust partners Steven Sunshine, Frederic Depoortere, and Joseph Rancour; intellectual property and privacy partner Ken Kumayama; benefits partner Erica Schohn; labor and employment partner David Schwartz; national security partner Mike Leiter; and tax partner Eric Sensenbrenner.

Wilson Sonsini's team for Infinera is led by corporate partners Doug Schnell, Remi Korenblit, Ross Tanaka, and Amanda Urquiza.