How about some good news? Well, okay, some not-so-bad news.

Lost in this week’s blizzard of bad news — layoffs, pay cuts, multibillion-dollar losses — from US companies (which was accompanied by severe winter weather over much of the country) was the report that two long-time suitors came together and got engaged.

Two companies in the optical components business, Avanex and Bookham, announced Tuesday that they’re getting hitched. The stock-swap transaction values Avanex at about $35 million, and that’s for a company with annual sales of $208 million. Yes, folks, that’s right; a marginally profitable venture is getting knocked down for around 17% of sales. What is this, Circuit City? Everything must go! All sales final!

Bookham is a little bigger than Avanex ($235 million in annual sales), and it has the distinction of never having made a profit. It’s lost more than $1 billion in its 20-year history. (Avanex turned profitable in fiscal 2008 after years in the red.)

The backstory for this marriage-on-the-cheap is that these are two companies that never really recovered from the dot-com/telecom bust. Why are two loss-ridden companies merging? For the same excuse your kids use when they get caught in mischief: “Everyone else is doing it!”

Yes, there is rampant consolidation in the optical components business. Oplink Communications acquired Optical Communication Products in 2007, Finisar bought Optium last year, and Opnext (the Hitachi spin-off) just snapped up StrataLight Communications. Other vendors will need to make their moves this year if they don’t want to get left behind.

Avanex and Bookham actually were slightly ahead of the trend; they seriously discussed a merger in 2006, without reaching a deal.

The merged company will get a new name, perhaps to expunge the stain of accumulated deficits. Shareholders of Bookham will own about 53% of the combined venture, so maybe they’ll change the company’s name to Booknex. Or Avaham.

Avanex and Bookham expect closing of the merger to take three to six months. I can’t see US business regulators throwing any roadblocks in the way of this deal. I’m sure the antitrust attorneys at the FTC and the Justice Department will only say, “What took you so long?”