Nokia today announced that it has received approval from the European Commission for its pending acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent. In a statement issued from its headquarters in Espoo, Finland, Nokia said the proposed transaction, which was notified to the European Commission on June 19, 2015 and was “cleared today without conditions following a Phase 1 review.”
Approval by the European Commission follows previously disclosed antitrust clearances in Brazil and Serbia and the expiration of the antitrust review period in the United States. In addition, the parties confirmed today they have received further antitrust clearances from Albania, Canada, Colombia and Russia. Both companies will continue to cooperate with the remaining authorities to close their reviews as quickly as possible.
The transaction remains subject to approval by Nokia shareholders, Nokia holding over 50.00% of the share capital of Alcatel-Lucent on a fully diluted basis upon completion of the public exchange offer, receipt of other regulatory approvals and other customary conditions. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2016.
Describing its activities, Nokia says by focusing on the human possibilities of technology, it embraces “the connected world to help people thrive. Our three businesses are leaders in their fields: Nokia Networks provides broadband infrastructure, software and services; HERE provides mapping, navigation and location intelligence; and Nokia Technologies provides advanced technology development and licensing.”
On its part, Alcatel-Lucent is described as “the leading IP networking, ultra-broadband access and cloud technology specialist. It is dedicated to making global communications more innovative, sustainable and accessible for people, businesses and governments worldwide. Its mission is to invent and deliver trusted.”
With the acquisition however, Nokia will swallow Alcatel-Lucent and its capabilities to form what is being expected to create an innovation leader in next generation technology and services for an IP connected world.
The combined company will be uniquely positioned to create the foundation of seamless connectivity for people and things wherever they are. This foundation is essential for enabling the next wave of technological change, including the Internet of Things and transition to the cloud.
Nokia Corporation, as it will be known, will thus have unparalleled innovation capabilities, with Alcatel-Lucent’s Bell Labs and Nokia’s FutureWorks, as well as Nokia Technologies, which will stay as a separate entity with a clear focus on licensing and the incubation of new technologies.
With more than 40 000 R&D employees and spend of EUR 4.7 billion in R&D in 2014, the combined company will be in a position to accelerate development of future technologies including 5G, IP and software-defined networking, cloud, analytics as well as sensors and imaging.
Alcatel-Lucent and Nokia have highly complementary portfolios and geographies, with particular strength in the United States, China, Europe and Asia-Pacific. They will also bring together the best of fixed and mobile broadband, IP routing, core networks, cloud applications and services. This combination is expected to create access to an expanded addressable market with improved long term growth opportunities.