Ciena Snags Nortel’s Optical Business

Ciena is buying Nortel Networks’ optical networking and carrier Ethernet business after besting an offer from Nokia Siemens in a three-day auction. Ciena will pay $769 million for these assets from the now-bankrupt company, noting that they will significantly bolster its Internet infrastructure business. Given the way the market for Ethernet equipment has defied the econalypse, that will likely prove the case.

But the acquisition is not without risks. It poses a massive integration challenge for Ciena (CIEN), the likes of which the company has never dealt with before. As Jefferies & Co. analysts wrote in a research note this morning, “We can’t think of anyone in Ciena’s management team that has ever been involved in–much less integrated–an M&A deal like this.”