Nokia Oyj is in advanced talks to acquire Alcatel-Lucent SA in the Finnish telecommunications-equipment maker’s biggest-ever acquisition that could value the French rival at more than US$13 billion.
The combination would be in a public exchange offer by Espoo, Finland-based Nokia for Paris-based Alcatel, the companies said in statements yesterday.
Alcatel shares jumped as much as 18 percent in the French capital, while Nokia shares fell as much as 8.3 percent on the Helsinki exchange.
Photo: Bloomberg
The companies make networking equipment, such as base stations and antennas that transmit mobile phone calls and data, competing against Sweden’s Ericsson AB and Huawei Technologies Co (華為) of China.
By acquiring Alcatel, Nokia chief executive officer Rajeev Suri would bolster the Finnish supplier’s position in China, a market with about 1.3 billion wireless subscribers, and take on some contracts with the two biggest US carriers — Verizon Communications Inc and AT&T Inc.
No agreement has been reached and a deal could still fall apart, the companies said.
Nokia executives are seeking to secure French state backing for a deal, a person familiar with the matter said. Any deal would need a green light from French President Francois Hollande’s government, which has previously tried to block corporate mergers in the country.
French government officials are working with advisers on a transaction that would protect some domestic research jobs, people familiar with the matter said. A French government official declined to comment.
Nokia shares had lost 6.7 percent to 7.25 euros at 10:07am yesterday in Helsinki, after dropping as low as 7.13 euros. Alcatel climbed 13 percent to 4.38 euros in Paris yesterday, after rising as high as 4.57 euros.
Exane BNP Paribas analyst Alexander Peterc said Alcatel could be worth 4.50 euros per share in a sale, which would value the company’s equity at 12.7 billion euros (US$13.4 billion).
A planned disposal of Nokia’s maps business, HERE, has led analysts to speculate that the proceeds could be used to help pay for acquisitions. Bloomberg News reported on Friday last week that Nokia is exploring a sale of HERE.
Consolidation has dominated conversations in the network equipment industry for at least the past five years, as price wars dragged profits down and carriers reduce spending on infrastructure amid sluggish revenue. Suri and Alcatel CEO Michel Combes have eliminated jobs and focused on more profitable contracts.
Talks between Nokia and Alcatel have been on and off in the past.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
BIG BUCKS: Chairman Wei is expected to receive NT$34.12 million on a proposed NT$5 cash dividend plan, while the National Development Fund would get NT$8.27 billion Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday announced that its board of directors approved US$15.25 billion in capital appropriations for long-term expansion to meet growing demand. The funds are to be used for installing advanced technology and packaging capacity, expanding mature and specialty technology, and constructing fabs with facility systems, TSMC said in a statement. The board also approved a proposal to distribute a NT$5 cash dividend per share, based on first-quarter earnings per share of NT$13.94, it said. That surpasses the NT$4.50 dividend for the fourth quarter of last year. TSMC has said that while it is eager
‘IMMENSE SWAY’: The top 50 companies, based on market cap, shape everything from technology to consumer trends, advisory firm Visual Capitalist said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) was ranked the 10th-most valuable company globally this year, market information advisory firm Visual Capitalist said. TSMC sat on a market cap of about US$915 billion as of Monday last week, making it the 10th-most valuable company in the world and No. 1 in Asia, the publisher said in its “50 Most Valuable Companies in the World” list. Visual Capitalist described TSMC as the world’s largest dedicated semiconductor foundry operator that rolls out chips for major tech names such as US consumer electronics brand Apple Inc, and artificial intelligence (AI) chip designers Nvidia Corp and Advanced
Pegatron Corp (和碩), an iPhone assembler for Apple Inc, is to spend NT$5.64 billion (US$186.82 million) to acquire HTC Corp’s (宏達電) factories in Taoyuan and invest NT$578.57 million in its India subsidiary to expand manufacturing capacity, after its board approved the plans on Wednesday. The Taoyuan factories would expand production of consumer electronics, and communication and computing devices, while the India investment would boost production of communications devices and possibly automotive electronics later, a Pegatron official told the Taipei Times by telephone yesterday. Pegatron expects to complete the Taoyuan factory transaction in the third quarter, said the official, who declined to be
RSS