Ciena Corporation (NASDAQ:CIEN, news, filings) (“Ciena”)  today announced that it has commenced a private offering of Senior Notes due  2030 (the “Notes”), subject to market and other conditions. The Notes will be  guaranteed by certain of Ciena’s direct and indirect existing and future  domestic subsidiaries. Ciena intends to use the net proceeds from the sale of  the Notes for general corporate purposes.

This  communication does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an  offer to buy the Notes or related guarantees, nor shall there be any offer or  sale of the Notes or related guarantees in any jurisdiction in which such  offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The offer and sale of the Notes  and related guarantees have not been and will not be registered under the  Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) or the securities  laws of any other jurisdiction and may not be offered or sold in the United  States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration  requirements of the Securities Act.

The Notes and related guarantees will be offered and  sold only to persons reasonably believed to be qualified institutional buyers  in accordance with Rule 144A under the Securities Act, and to non-U.S. persons  outside the United States in reliance on Regulation S under the Securities Act.

About Ciena
Ciena (NYSE: CIEN) is a networking systems, services and software company. We provide solutions that help our customers create the Adaptive NetworkTM in response to the constantly changing demands of their end-users. By delivering best-in-class networking technology through high-touch consultative relationships, we build the world’s most agile networks with automation, openness and scale. For updates on Ciena, follow us on Twitter @Ciena, LinkedIn, the Ciena Insights blog, or visit www.ciena.com.

Note to Ciena Investors
You are encouraged to  review the Investors section of our website, where we routinely post press  releases, SEC filings, recent news, financial results, and other announcements.  From time to time we exclusively post material  information to this website along with other disclosure channels that we use. This press release contains certain forward-looking statements that are based  on our current expectations, forecasts, information and assumptions, including  statements about the expected completion date of the ASR and expected numbers of shares to be delivered under the ASR agreement. These statements involve  inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results or outcomes may differ  materially from those stated or implied, because of risks and uncertainties, including that we cannot guarantee that share repurchases will enhance  long-term stockholder value, and that share repurchases could increase the  volatility of the price of our stock and diminish our cash reserves, and those  risks and uncertainties detailed in our most recent annual and quarterly  reports filed with the SEC. Forward-looking statements include statements  regarding our  expectations, beliefs,  intentions or strategies and can be identified by words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “should,” “will,” and “would” or similar words. Ciena assumes no obligation to update the information included in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.