Fergie's Tech Blog

Alcatel, Lucent Discuss Merger

A Reuters newswire article, via CNN/Money, reports that:

French telecom equipment provider Alcatel is in talks with its smaller U.S. rival Lucent Technologies to create a combination with sales of 21 billion ($25.33 billion) and a combined market capitalization of more than 28 billion ($33.78 billion), the companies said.

They broke off previous merger talks in 2001 after Lucent balked at the idea of an Alcatel takeover, and they said Thursday they were discussing a potential "merger of equals" that was intended to be priced at market, meaning with no premium on their stock prices.

Their merger would produce a company larger than Cisco Systems and would mark the latest round of consolidation in the telecom and media sector as companies respond to the rapid conversion of technologies and the growth of "triple play," the provision of TV, high-speed Internet and voice services over phone lines.

posted by Fergie @ 3/24/2006 06:31:00 AM