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EXHIBIT 99.1
Press Release Dated August 15, 2000
Investor Contact: Suzanne DuLong or Jessica Towns
CIENA Corporation
(888) 243-6223
email: [email protected]
Press Contact: Denny Bilter or Aaron Graham
CIENA Corporation
(877) 857-7377
email: [email protected]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CIENA Announces Two-for-One Stock Split
Linthicum, Md. - August 15, 2000 -- CIENA Corporation announced today that its
Board of Directors has approved and declared a two-for-one stock split of the
Company's common shares. Shareholders of record at the close of business on
August 28, 2000 will receive a distribution of one new share for each share
held. The distribution date for the split, being effected by way of a stock
dividend, is September 18, 2000.
"CIENA continues to demonstrate its leadership in intelligent optical
networking," said Patrick Nettles, CIENA's president and chief executive
officer. "With six consecutive quarters of revenue growth and a share price
which has increased more than four-fold in a year, a stock split will allow a
broader base of investors to participate in this strong business momentum."
As of July 31, 2000, CIENA had 141,907,933 common shares outstanding. Upon
completion of the split, the number will increase to 283,815,866 common shares
outstanding.
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ABOUT CIENA
CIENA Corporation's market-leading intelligent optical networking systems form
the core for the new era of networks and services worldwide. CIENA's
LightWorks(tm) architecture enables next-generation optical services and changes
the fundamental economics of service-provider networks by simplifying the
network and reducing the cost to operate it. Additional information about CIENA
can be found at <http://www.ciena.com>.