With two fiber-optics companies going public this month, and a third on the way early next year, Chatsworth is quietly emerging as a regional spawning ground for one of technology's hottest growth sectors.
Today, shares of optical-components maker Luminent Inc., a spinoff of MRV Communications, will begin trading on Nasdaq under the symbol LMNE. The company late Thursday raised $144 million by selling 12 million shares at $12 each.
The Luminent initial public offering follows by one week the IPO for cross-town competitor Optical Communication Products Inc., which raised $115.5 million in its deal. On the first day of trading the stock soared 63%, climbing from $11 to $17.88. It closed Thursday at $16.88, down $1.50 on Nasdaq.
And MRV says that, in the first quarter of next year, it is planning a $108-million IPO for Optical Access, its wireless-products division, according to documents filed with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission. That San Diego-based company has offices in Chatsworth and could move there. It is now a wholly owned subsidiary of MRV Communications but separate from Luminent, company officials said.
MRV Chief Executive Noam Lotan declined to comment, citing the "quiet period" before Luminent's public offering. But in an interview in the spring, he talked of his goal of creating an "optical empire."
"Ultimately, we want to have fiber running to every home," Lotan said.
While Silicon Valley continues to dominate the fiber-optics world with the presence of players like JDS Uniphase and Agilent, industry experts say these companies have a chance to flourish amid the ranch homes and business parks that make up the Northwest San Fernando Valley.
In all, more than 1,000 people are employed by the three companies in Chatsworth, designing, manufacturing and marketing components and other equipment for optical and wireless networks.
Once home to defense-related research and technology firms, Chatsworth has built on that legacy as a growing area for commercial-related communications and networking companies.
Many of the companies filled a vacuum left by California's dwindling military-industrial complex. Remaining were an experienced crop of engineering talent, access to cheaper land as well as top-notch universities and research facilities.
"This is not a new story for Chatsworth," said Rohit Shukla, vice president of the Los Angeles City Board of Information Technology Commissioners. "Chatsworth and the West Valley have been attractive to technology companies at least since the '70s."
