Nokia in talks to acquire Alcatel-Lucent assets
Nokia of Espoo, Finland, is engaged in advanced discussions to buy a portion of Alcatel-Lucent of Boulogne-Billancourt, France, to bolster its telecom equipment unit and better go toe-to-toe with Ericsson of Stockholm, Sweden, according to a newswire report.
The newswire cited for the information people familiar with the situation.
Bloomberg News earlier today, Monday, cited the people as saying that Nokia might announce a deal to acquire Alcatel wireless holdings this week. Though an outright takeover of Alcatel has been mulled, a transaction involving the Alcatel wireless division that had revenue of EUR 4.7bn in 2014 is the most probable outcome, said the people. Executives at Nokia are looking to obtain French state support for a sale of Alcatel wireless assets, one of the people said. However, the people added that no pact has been reached and that the talks between Nokia and Alcatel could ultimately fizzle out.
According to the news report, representatives at Nokia and Alcatel declined to comment on the discussions.
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