News In Brief

JDS Uniphase Corp. announced it would buy SDL Inc., a rival fiber-optic product company, for about $41 billion in stock - just weeks after it purchased another competitor, E-Tek Dynamics, for $15 billion. JDS Uniphase, with offices in San Jose, Calif., and Nedean, Ontario, and SDL each manufacture products for high-capacity fiber-optic networks, which allow for increased telecommunications traffic. SDL is based in San Jose, Calif.

Invitrogen Corp. will pay $1.9 billion in cash and stock to acquire all outstanding shares of Life Technologies Inc. and Dexter Corp., the companies said. Invitrogen, maker of tools used in gene cloning and research, is merging with two other suppliers of the biotech industry to take advantage of a market expected to surge as a result of the mapping of the human genetic code. Combined, the three firms will have annual sales of $500 million.

The SWX Swiss exchange and London's Tradepoint Financial Networks announced they'll set up a pan-European blue-chip exchange. Virt-X, for "virtual exchange," will use the Swiss trading system but will be regulated in London. It will start with 603 shares from 16 European countries, the Swiss Neue Zuercher Zeitung newspaper reported, and will include more than 30 Swiss blue chips.

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