30 September 2003 Woodland Hills, CA Lightwave--Optical Communication Products (OCP)announced that a special committee of its board of directors is evaluating strategic alternatives to enhance shareholder value and liquidity. The special committee, which is comprised of the company's three independent directors, has retained Bear, Stearns & Co., which is advising the committee in evaluating strategic alternatives, including a special dividend, share repurchases, strategic merger or sale of the company.
OCP designs, manufactures, and sells fiber-optic subsystems and modules for metropolitan, local and storage area networks. OCP's product lines include optical transceivers, transponders, transmitters and receivers. The company was founded in 1991. The Furukawa Electric Co. Ltd., based in Tokyo, beneficially owns 58.1% of OCP's outstanding capital stock as of June 30, 2003.