OTTAWA - Mosaid Technologies Inc., an intellectual property licensing company based in Ottawa, says it has sold a portfolio of more than 200 optical networking patents to a major global corporation it did not name.

The company, recently acquired by a U.S. based private equity investor, said Thursday it acquired the patents and applications in early 2011 from Italy's PGT-Photonics S.p.A., a spinoff of tire manufacturer Pirelli & C. S.p.A.

PGT-Photonics developed advanced optical networking communications components, including tunable lasers, optical transceivers and responders and related manufacturing processes.

"I'm pleased that we successfully executed on our value enhancement and monetization strategy for the PGT-Photonics IP portfolio," said John Lindgren, president and CEO of Mosaid.

"Our in-house patent prosecution group worked diligently to significantly improve the overall quality of the patents. We expended considerable resources to preserve the rich R&D heritage that this portfolio represents, thus successfully enhancing its worth. The buyer owns a valuable portfolio of optical IP that will support their business expansion strategy."

In December, Mosaid was acquired for $590 million by U.S. investor Sterling Partners.

The Sterling bid trumped a hostile offer from Wi-LAN, an Ottawa-based rival which had offered $531 million.