Photonic integrated circuit development in Russia part of NeoPhotonics' investment proceeds

San Jose, CA--Photonic integrated circuit (PIC) module and sub-system designer and manufacturer NeoPhotonics Corporation received an investment from RUSNANO, a $10 billion sovereign investment corporation located in Moscow, Russia. RUSNANO acquired 4.97 million common shares of NeoPhotonics in a private placement transaction at a price of $8.00 per share for gross proceeds of $39.8 million. NeoPhotonics intends to use a portion of the net proceeds from the sale of the shares of common stock for general corporate purposes as well as to establish design and production capabilities in Russia by mid 2014 for the benefit of the global organization.

"We are pleased to receive this strategic investment from RUSNANO," said Tim Jenks, chairman, president, and CEO of NeoPhotonics. "We welcomed this investment as it aligns with our strategy to accelerate growth globally, with particular emphasis on fast growing and emerging markets, including in Russia and the CIS countries."

"Not only are these markets deploying high speed, agile and fiber-to-the-home networks but we are also seeing more of our customers target service providers and invest locally in Russia and more broadly in Eastern Europe," Jenks added. "We started to see and investigate this growth opportunity several years ago, and we added sales capability in the region and have since been engaged with and supplying several customers in Russia. With the planned support from RUSNANO, we believe that NeoPhotonics is well-positioned to capitalize on new and greater opportunities in the region."

NeoPhotonics says its PIC products enable cost-effective, high-speed data transmission and efficient allocation of bandwidth over communications networks. NeoPhotonics maintains headquarters in San Jose, CA and ISO 9001:2000 certified engineering and manufacturing facilities in Silicon Valley (USA) and Shenzhen, China. The Company's per share closing trading price on April 27, 2012, was $4.49. These shares are restricted from resale pursuant to a lockup agreement for up to two years, at the end of which the Company is obligated to register the shares for potential resale. In connection with the investment, the Company appointed Sergey Polikarpov, RUSNANO Managing Director, to the board of directors.

"One of the unique advantages of NeoPhotonics is its vertically-integrated design and manufacturing processes for photonic integrated circuit-based products," said Mr. Polikarpov. "The Company's planned research and production facilities in Russia are intended to be able to perform a wide range of steps from PIC development to processing and fabrication. We believe that with our support in Russia, we can further enhance the Company’s development cycles and shorten the time for broader adoption for NeoPhotonics products in Russia and the global market."

RUSNANO was founded in March 2011 as an open joint stock company through reorganization of state corporation Russian Corporation of Nanotechnologies. RUSNANO’s mission is to develop the Russian nanotechnology industry through co-investment in nanotechnology projects with substantial economic potential or social benefit.

SOURCE: NeoPhotonics; www.neophotonics.com/news/newsneo_1688884.aspx