Jabil Expands into Shanghai
Three-Year Agreement to Manufacture Lucent Technologies Optical Communications Products
23 May 2002
St. Petersburg, FL
Jabil Circuit Inc. (NYSE: JBL) and Lucent Technologies of Shanghai, Ltd. (LTOS) today announced an agreement for Jabil Circuit to acquire most of the assets and the business of LTOS, including a 325,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Shanghai. LTOS is a joint venture among Lucent Technologies (China) Co., Ltd., Shanghai Optical Communications Development Co., Ltd., Shanghai Posts & Telecommunications Equipment Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Jiu Shi Corporation. Consummation of the acquisition is subject to the satisfaction of customary conditions, including government approvals and the approval of the shareholders of Shanghai Posts & Telecommunications Equipment.
Jabil will continue to manufacture optical switching and other communications infrastructure products for Lucent from the acquired facility under a three-year supply agreement. "This Shanghai operation will be an important expansion of our Asian manufacturing capabilities. It provides Jabil with key competencies in complex optical assembly and design services," said Bill Peters, Jabil's Senior Vice President of Operations. "Shanghai is a primary communications equipment hub for China and this transaction significantly enhances our ability to provide key services for our communications customer base in a critical growth market. The agreement also strengthens our relationship with Lucent."
Jabil will offer employment to all 500 of the current LTOS staff and will continue the manufacturing of optical and switching and other communications infrastructure products for Lucent Technologies Inc. in this location. The facility houses high mix manufacturing with expertise in design (electrical, mechanical, CAD and software), circuit board assembly and integration and testing of complete systems.
"This agreement with Jabil is an important part of Lucent's strategy to make greater use of leading EMS providers for sophisticated high-tech equipment," said Steve Sherman, vice president, Lucent Technologies manufacturing strategy. "This approach allows us to take advantage of their manufacturing expertise so we can focus our resources where we add the most value – developing advanced communications networking solutions and technologies for the world's largest service providers."
Jabil expects to complete the transaction by late summer. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
About Jabil
Jabil Circuit, Inc. is an electronic manufacturer of circuit board assemblies and systems for global electronics product companies. Jabil offers manufacturing and assembly services, including: circuit design, board design from schematic, prototype assembly, volume board assembly and system assembly services. The company operates manufacturing facilities in 24 locations in 12 countries around the world. More information on Jabil can be found on its website: jabil.com.
This news release contains various forward-looking statements, including those regarding Jabil's anticipated negotiation, documentation and consummation of the transaction described and the potential benefits to Jabil from this transaction. These statements are based on Jabil's current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include: the ability to negotiate and document certain remaining material economic terms of the agreements governing the transactions described and the ability to consummate the transactions described; the length and severity of the current economic downturn and Jabil's ability to manage customer demand through the downturn; fluctuations in operating results; changes in technology; competition; managing rapid growth; managing rapid declines in customer demand; managing the integration of businesses we acquire; risks associated with international sales and operations; retaining key personnel; our dependence on a limited number of customers; the consolidation of our customer base; and business and competitive factors generally affecting the electronic manufacturing services industry, our customers and our business. There are also other risk factors that we may not have currently identified or quantified; and other risks, relevant factors and uncertainties identified in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2001, any subsequent Reports on Form 10-Q and Form 8-K and our other securities filings. Jabil disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.