Daily newsletter · Tue 3 Nov 2026
Marvell agreed to buy Lumentum for US$115 billion, and both sets of shareholders sold
Marvell Technology is buying Lumentum in an all-stock deal with an implied enterprise value of US$115 billion. Marvell shares fell 12.72% to US$171.41 on Monday. Lumentum fell 18.59% to US$684.40.
The target fell because the buyer did. Lumentum holders are being paid in Marvell shares, 4.5 of them for each Lumentum share. On the 28 October closing prices that worked out at about US$1,132 a share, a premium of 23.9%. Marvell's price has moved a long way since.
Lumentum makes the lasers and optical parts that carry data between AI servers at speed. Marvell designs the chips that let those servers talk to one another. Matt Murphy, Marvell's chief executive, called the shift to optical connections a once-in-a-generation opportunity.
The deal is not expected to close until the first half of 2028. Lumentum also reported quarterly results on Monday that beat forecasts, and nobody noticed.
Marvell shareholders are handing over a third of the combined company, and Monday's selling says the market thinks that is a lot for parts Marvell could have gone on buying. The case rests on optical connections becoming the real bottleneck in AI data centres, and that argument gets settled closer to 2028 than to this week.
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General information and commentary only, not financial advice. It does not take account of your objectives, financial situation or needs, and reflects the author's own reading of public information at the time of writing, which may be wrong. Sharespective, its people and its clients may hold positions in the companies covered. Do your own research and talk to a licensed adviser.