[Market Now] Dasan Networks acquires Zhone Technologies

Dasan Networks said that it will acquire Zhone Technologies through share swaps by June this year.

Dasan is a KOSDAQ-listed telecommunications equipment maker, while Zhone is a NASDAQ-listed telecommunications equipment maker.

Under the deal, Dasan Networks will acquire new shares of Zhone, or a 58 percent stake, for 89 billion won ($78 million). Zhone will merge with Dasan Networks’ U.S. subsidiary Dasan Network Solutions, and own a 42 percent stake in Dasan’s U.S. company, according to a regulatory filing. The merger will also include absorbing Zhone’s subsidiary DA Corp.

The new merged entity between Zhone and Dasan Network Solutions will be named Dasan Zhone Solutions. The deal will enable a backdoor listing of Dasan Networks on NASDAQ in the U.S.

“The purpose of the merger between Dasan Network Solutions and Zhone Technologies is to further expand in the global telecommunications equipment market,” Dasan Networks said in a public disclosure report.

The deal will be finalized by June 30 this year, the company said.

(hkp@heraldcorp.com)