Although the committee that vets foreign takeovers of US assets approved the merger between the French and US telecommunications equipment makers last month, the condition, revealed in a recent US regulatory filing, underscores how significantly the environment for foreign deals has changed since the Dubai ports debacle this year. (This deal involved shipping group P&O)
Meanwhile, Serge Tchuruk, appointed as Chairman of the Board of Alcatel-Lucent, said: "Alcatel-Lucent will be for our customers a partner with the scale and scope to design, build and manage increasingly complex networks that deliver advanced converged services and communications experience to the end-user. That is what Alcatel-Lucent will deliver with an unparalleled focus on execution, innovation and service for our customers: the company will have the most experienced global services team in the telecommunications industry, as well as one of the largest research, technology and innovation organizations in the industry. In fact, our combined company is ideally positioned to help our customers transform their networks so they can offer new kinds of personalized, blended applications and services."
Patricia Russo, appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Alcatel-Lucent, added: "Through this merger, we are bringing together two top-ranking companies to form an undisputed leader in the industry, a company poised to enrich people's lives by transforming the way the world communicates. Alcatel-Lucent is a strong and enduring ally that service providers, governments and enterprises can count on to help them unlock new market and revenue opportunities. This combination represents a strategic fit of vision, geography, solutions and people, leveraging the best of both companies to deliver meaningful communications solutions that are personalized, simple to adopt and available globally. Both Alcatel and Lucent embraced a common culture of innovation and excellence that will help ensure the success of our merger."