Marvell Technology is in advanced talks to acquire Lumentum Holdings, the maker of lasers and optical transceivers used to move data between GPUs inside AI data centers, according to people familiar with the matter. A deal could be announced as soon as next week. Neither company has confirmed the talks or disclosed terms.
Lumentum carries a market value of roughly $83 billion, against about $221 billion for Marvell. Lumentum shares rose about 9% in extended trading on October 28 after the talks were reported, while Marvell shares fell between 8% and 9%.
Lumentum makes lasers, photonic integrated circuits, and high-speed transceivers. Its Cloud & Networking segment accounts for about 88% of revenue, driven by 800G and 1.6T transceiver shipments and narrow linewidth laser assemblies, which grew more than 120% year over year. The company posted record fiscal third-quarter revenue of $808.4 million, up 90% from a year earlier.
Key facts
- 01Marvell Technology is in advanced talks to acquire Lumentum Holdings, with a deal possible as soon as next week.
- 02Lumentum has a market value of roughly $83B; Marvell's is near $221B.
- 03Lumentum shares rose about 9% in extended trading on Oct. 28; Marvell fell 8% to 9%.
- 04Marvell held about $3.92B in cash and equivalents as of its latest quarter.
- 05Nvidia invested $2B in Lumentum convertible preferred stock in March 2026.
Demand has outrun supply. Lumentum CEO Michael Hurlston has reportedly said demand pushed the company's sold-out date to 2029, a year past an earlier April 2028 estimate.
A Lumentum purchase would extend Marvell's push into optical technology for AI infrastructure. In December 2025, Marvell agreed to buy photonics startup Celestial AI for $3.25 billion in cash and stock, rising to as much as $5.5 billion if revenue milestones are met.
Marvell has been raising its targets. At its October 6 investor day, the company lifted its 2028 data center market forecast to $94 billion from $75 billion, and it raised its fiscal 2028 revenue forecast to $20 billion from $15 billion. Marvell shares have nearly tripled this year.
The two companies already work together. At OFC 2026, Marvell's optical DSPs were shown interoperating with Lumentum's R300 optical circuit switching platform.
Financing is the open question. Marvell held about $3.92 billion in cash and equivalents as of its latest quarter, and Bernstein analysts said a deal of Lumentum's size would likely require additional financing and could bring integration challenges.
Nvidia is also tied to the target. In March 2026, Nvidia bought about 2.9 million shares of Lumentum Series A convertible preferred stock at $695.31 each, a $2 billion investment, and put another $2 billion into Lumentum rival Coherent the same day. Nvidia is Lumentum's anchor customer, and its preferred shares will not convert to common stock until the Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period expires.
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