Marvell agrees $115bn acquisition of Lumentum

Marvell has agreed to acquire Lumentum in an all-stock transaction with an implied enterprise value of $115 billion, bringing its interconnect and custom silicon business together with a manufacturer of lasers, optical transceivers and optical circuit switches. Lumentum shareholders would receive 4.5 Marvell shares for each share they hold, leaving them with approximately 33% of the combined company after completion. ^[1]

The proposed combination brings together components that already work alongside one another in optical links. Marvell supplies the digital signal processors that perform functions such as equalisation, clock recovery and forward error correction, together with laser drivers and transimpedance amplifiers that connect the electrical processing to the optical devices. Its portfolio also includes silicon photonics and co-packaged optics, with waveguides, modulators, photodetectors and associated electronics integrated into its optical devices. ^[2]

Lumentum supplies the light sources as well as optical modules. Its indium phosphide continuous-wave lasers support both silicon photonics transceivers and co-packaged optics, providing the light used by those architectures. That gives the proposed business a connection between the laser technology and Marvell’s work on the circuitry and packaging around the optical link. ^[4]

The acquisition would also add optical circuit switching. Lumentum’s R300 uses micro-electro-mechanical systems, or MEMS, to establish direct optical paths between endpoints without intermediate packet processing or conversion of the traffic into electrical signals and back again. The switching function sits within the optical network, while Marvell’s DSPs process the signals at the ends of the link. ^[2][5]

Manufacturing would be a substantial addition to Marvell’s business. In a letter to employees filed with the SEC, chief executive Matt Murphy explained that Marvell primarily develops CMOS and silicon germanium technologies through a fabless model, whereas Lumentum operates its own indium phosphide and gallium arsenide fabrication facilities alongside external manufacturing partners. The transaction would therefore bring specialised laser and optical-component fabrication into a company that currently relies on foundry partners for its semiconductor production. ^[3]

Murphy said the companies’ products are often used in the same systems and their teams already have experience working together. He expects emerging optical connections within AI infrastructure to require closer integration between electrical and optical technologies, with more of the solution designed together. The acquisition announcement sets out plans to combine semiconductor design, compound semiconductors and advanced packaging across connections ranging from distributed data centres to links within semiconductor packages. ^[1][3]

Completion is expected in the first half of 2028, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals and other closing conditions. Until then, Marvell and Lumentum will continue to operate as separate companies. ^[1][3]

Sources

1. Lumentum and Marvell, acquisition agreement and transaction conditions, 2 November 2026
2. Marvell, fiscal 2026 annual report, interconnect products and signal-processing functions
3. Marvell, SEC-filed employee communication on manufacturing capabilities, technical fit and separate operation pending completion, 2 November 2026
4. Lumentum, continuous-wave indium phosphide lasers for silicon photonics and co-packaged optics, product background
5. Lumentum, R300 optical circuit switch and MEMS optical paths, product background

Abstract fibre-optic lighting. Illustrative photograph, not a Lumentum product. Photo: Connor Scott McManus / Pexels. Image source. Licence.