EXFO completes US$187 million acquisition of Burleigh Instruments

On December 20, 2000, EXFO Electro-Optical Engineering Inc. (NASDAQ: EXFO, TSE: EXF) announced that it had completed its acquisition of Burleigh Instruments, Inc. Burleigh, a privately held company in upstate New York, is a leading supplier of DWDM wavelength measurement instruments and precision positioning equipment.

Under the terms of the previously announced agreement, EXFO has acquired Burleigh by issuing approximately 6.5 million subordinate voting shares and paying approximately US$40 million in cash, including acquisition costs. The closing price of EXFO's stock on December 19, 2000 was US$22.625 per share, giving the transaction an approximate value of US$187 million. The acquisition was structured as a reverse triangular merger.

EXFO is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of fiber-optic test, measurement and monitoring instruments for the telecommunications industry.

EXFO was advised in this transaction by a team from Fasken Martineau including, among others, Robert Paré, Peter Villani and Frédéric Boucher (corporate) and Claude Auger (tax)