Marvell Signs $115 Billion All-Stock Deal to Acquire Lumentum

Marvell targets Lumentum in $115 billion transaction

Custom chip designer Marvell has signed an agreement to acquire optical chip and networking equipment maker Lumentum in an all-stock transaction with an enterprise value of $115 billion, including debt. The deal places Lumentum’s equity value at about $80 billion.

Under the agreed terms, Marvell will provide 4.5 shares of its common stock for every Lumentum share. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of calendar year 2028, subject to approval from both companies’ shareholders and regulators.

By the values cited, the proposed acquisition ranks among the largest deals in technology history. It is larger than Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard in 2022 and Dell’s $67 billion purchase of EMC in 2016.

Optical components are central to the strategic rationale

Marvell said the combination with Lumentum would make it a leader in AI connectivity, spanning products from chips to data centers. Lumentum makes optical chips, networking equipment and advanced laser components, while Marvell designs custom chips.

The companies also share a significant investor: Nvidia. In March, Nvidia invested $2 billion in Lumentum as part of a multi-year agreement to buy the company’s advanced laser components. That investment was intended to support Lumentum’s research and development work and fab expansion.

Later in the same month, Marvell said Nvidia had invested $2 billion to strengthen Marvell’s optical networking and chips portfolio. Those separate commitments put Nvidia alongside both businesses as Marvell seeks to combine their capabilities.

What the timetable means for customers and planners

The signed agreement does not complete the acquisition. Shareholders and regulators must still approve it, and the companies place the expected closing in the first half of 2028. Until then, the transaction remains subject to those conditions.

For businesses planning AI data-center capacity, the deal highlights that connectivity components sit alongside compute chips in the supply chain. Procurement and infrastructure teams can account for optical networking dependencies when assessing longer-term platform options.