SiliconBeat

Oclaro, the San Jose fiber optics component supplier formed by the April merger of Bookham and Avanex has a new largest shareholder: LeRoy Kopp. According to a regulatory filing Tuesday, Kopp and his Minnesota investment firm, Kopp Investment Advisors, have acquired 9.3 million shares of Oclaro, or about 5 percent of its outstanding shares.

As of May 26, Kopp and his firm owned about 9.3 million shares, or about 5 percent of Oclaro’s outstanding shares, including 5.3 million he bought from March 27 through May 26 for $3.2 million, paying about 60 cents for each.

He spent $6.2 million to gather his entire present stake, which works out to an average per-share price of 66 cents.

The holdings were reported using a 13D filing form, the kind that needs to be used by investors who might be actively involved in the investment. While Kopp says he has no current “plans or proposals” in mind, he said he intends to evaluate the performance of his investment with the objective of  “long-term capital appreciation.”

In the short term, the investment has already produced results. Oclaro shares rose 8 cents today, or 10 percent, to close at 90 cents.