EMCORE moving headquarters to California

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"EMCORE will be moving its corporate headquarters to Alhambra, California," company spokesman Joel Counter said Wednesday. "It is all Veritas."

Dan Mayfield

Reporter- Albuquerque Business First

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EMCORE (NASDAQ: EMKR) announced today that it will no longer have a presence in New Mexico once the $150 million sale of its space solar photovoltaics division to Veritas Capital is complete.

"EMCORE will be moving its corporate headquarters to Alhambra, California," company spokesman Joel Counter said Wednesday. "It is all Veritas." Counter did not specify whether EMCORE would hire employees in California.

Company CEO Hong Hou previously said that when the Veritas deal closes, no employees would lose their jobs, and a recent proxy filed by EMCORE with the SEC said Veritas has agreed to keep the employees in Albuquerque at their current pay rates and benefits for at least one year. The sale is expected to close in December of 2014 or in early 2015.

Veritas has not announced a new name for space solar photovoltaics division, which operates here in Albuquerque.

EMCORE has long been heralded as a home run by New Mexicans eager to see more high-tech businesses here. The company, the state's second-largest publicly traded firm, grew out of MicroOptical Devices, which was started using technology developed at Sandia National Laboratories. Gary Oppedahl, the head of the city's department of Economic Development, was instrumental in launching the firm. It was the first major tenant at the Sandia Science and Tech Park, and has grown over the last 20 years to be a force in several industries.

The company has grown to more than 1,000 employees worldwide, including 275 in New Mexico. It manufactures and develops a wide variety of products, including solar panels for satellites, cable TV tuners, lasers and more.

505.348.8308 | dmayfield@bizjournals.com
Technology, economic development