All-share transaction values Alcatel-Lucent at €15.6 billion (US$16.6 billion), producing a company with a combined €26 billion ($27.7 billion) annual revenues.

April 15, 2015

8 Min Read

Helsinki & Paris -- Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent announce today their intention to combine for technology and services for an IP connected world. The two companies have entered into a memorandum of understanding under which Nokia will make an offer for all of the equity securities issued by Alcatel-Lucent, through a public exchange offer in France and in the United States, on the basis of 0.55 of a new Nokia share for every Alcatel-Lucent share. The all-share transaction values Alcatel-Lucent at EUR 15.6 billion on a fully diluted basis, corresponding to a fully diluted premium of 34% (equivalent to EUR 4.48 per share), and a premium to shareholders of 28% (equivalent to EUR 4.27 per share), on the unaffected weighted average share price of Alcatel-Lucent for the previous three months. This is based on Nokia's unaffected closing share price of EUR 7.77 on April 13, 2015.

Each company's Board of Directors has approved the terms of the proposed transaction, which is expected to close in the first half of 2016. The proposed transaction is subject to approval by Nokia's shareholders, completion of relevant works council consultations, receipt of regulatory approvals and other customary conditions.

Enabling the connected world
The combined company will be 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.

The combined company will have 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 complementary portfolios and geographies, with particular strength in the United States, China, Europe and Asia-Pacific. They will also bring together 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.

Consumers are looking to access data, voice and video across networks of all kinds. In this environment technology that used to operate independently now needs to work well together. That is not always the case today, but together Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent are uniquely suited to helping telecom operators, internet players and large enterprises address this challenge.

TRANSACTION HIGHLIGHTS

  • 0.55 of a newly issued ordinary share of Nokia (subject to adjustments for any dividend other than the previously proposed Nokia dividend for 2014) would be offered in exchange for each ordinary share and each American Depositary Share of Alcatel-Lucent. An equivalent offer would be made for each outstanding class of Alcatel-Lucent convertible bonds: OCEANE 2018, OCEANE 2019 and OCEANE 2020

  • The offer values Alcatel-Lucent at EUR 15.6 billion on a fully diluted basis, after taking into account the early conversion and associated dilution of Alcatel-Lucent's convertible bonds, corresponding to a fully diluted premium of 34% (equivalent to EUR 4.48 per share), and a premium to the shareholders of 28% (equivalent to EUR 4.27 per share), on the unaffected weighted average share price of Alcatel-Lucent for the previous three months. This is based on Nokia's unaffected closing share price of EUR 7.77 on April 13, 2015

  • Alcatel-Lucent shareholders would own 33.5% of the fully diluted share capital of the combined company, and Nokia shareholders would own 66.5%, assuming full acceptance of the public exchange offer

  • The combined company will be called Nokia Corporation, with headquarters in Finland and a strong presence in France. Risto Siilasmaa is planned to serve as Chairman, and Rajeev Suri as Chief Executive Officer

  • The combined company's Board of Directors is planned to have nine or ten members, including three members from Alcatel-Lucent, one of whom would serve as Vice Chairman

  • Assuming the closing of the transaction in the first half of 2016:

    • The combined company would target approximately EUR 900 million of operating cost synergies to be achieved on a full year basis in 2019

    • The combined company would target approximately EUR 200 million of reductions in interest expenses to be achieved on a full year basis in 2017

    • The transaction is expected to be accretive to Nokia earnings on a non-IFRS basis (excluding restructuring charges and amortisation of intangibles) in 2017

  • A strong financial profile on which to grow and invest: on a FY2014 combined basis, the proposed company would have had net sales of EUR 25.9 billion, a non-IFRS operating profit of EUR 2.3 billion, a reported operating profit of EUR 0.3 billion, R&D investments of approximately EUR 4.7 billion, and a strong balance sheet with combined net cash at December 31, 2014 of EUR 7.4 billion, assuming conversion of all Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent convertible bonds (for basis of preparation see Appendix 2)

CORPORATE STRUCTURE AND GOVERNANCE
The planned combined company would be headquartered in Finland, with strategic business locations and major R&D centers in France, and many other countries including Germany, the United States and China. The business is expected to operate under the Nokia brand and intends to retain the Bell Labs brand to host its networks-focused innovation activities.

Risto Siilasmaa is planned to serve as Chairman, and Rajeev Suri as Chief Executive Officer. The combined company's Board of Directors is planned to have nine or ten members, including three members from Alcatel-Lucent, one of whom would serve as Vice Chairman.

Nokia also announces today that it has initiated a review of strategic options for its HERE business. That review is ongoing, it may or may not lead to a transaction, and any further announcements about HERE will be made in due course, as appropriate.

Nokia Technologies is not impacted by today's announcements and will stay as a separate entity with a clear focus on incubating new technologies and sharing those technologies through an active licensing program.

Nokia shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki (ticker:NOK1V), and on the New York Stock Exchange in the form of American Depositary Receipts (ticker:NOK). In addition, Nokia will apply for a listing of Nokia's shares on NYSE Euronext Paris in connection with the public exchange offer.

COMMUNITIES AND ECOSYSTEM
Nokia is a global company. When it joins with Alcatel-Lucent, it also expects that France, where Alcatel-Lucent is a participant in the technology ecosystem, will be a centre of the combined company. Nokia intends to be a contributor to the overall development of the broader technology ecosystem and a driver of innovation in France.

Consistent with this goal, the combined company expects that after the closing of the transaction it will have a presence in France that spans innovation activities including a 5G/Small Cell R&D Centre of Excellence; a Cyber-Security lab similar to its existing facility in Berlin designed to support European collaboration on the topic; and a continued focus on Bell Labs and wireless R&D. Engaging with and supporting projects and academic efforts that enhance the development of future technologies will remain an important priority.

Upon closing of the transaction, Nokia also intends to establish a EUR 100 million investment fund to invest in start-ups in France with a focus on the Internet of Things and the Industrial Internet.

Nokia intends to maintain employment in France that is consistent with Alcatel-Lucent's end-2015 Shift Plan commitments, with a particular focus on the key sites of Villarceaux (Essonne) and Lannion (Côtes d'Armor). In addition, the company expects to expand R&D employment with the addition of several hundred new positions targeting recent graduates with skills in future-oriented technologies, including 5G. To ensure ongoing support for customers, activities for support services and pre- and post-sales are expected to continue as well.

Similarly Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent have had a defining impact on the United States communications industry. As long-standing technology partners of the US service providers and with a re-energized Bell Labs research and consultancy, the proposed combined company would have technological depth in all strategic domains combined with formidable operational strength. At a time where the industry is re-shaping itself with new architectures, business models and market players, Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent together would bring a compelling force to the fast evolving needs of large enterprises, webscale players, and the public sector, as well as service providers.

Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent also have a long and rich history in China. As a result of the transaction Nokia would own Alcatel-Lucent's 50% plus one share holding in Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell, a company limited by shares supervised by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of China. Both companies support the Chinese Government's ambitions to encourage a climate for indigenous innovation and technology development through the 'Internet Plus' and 'Made in China 2025' initiatives. The combined company intends to remain committed to China and plans to continue enabling local innovation with fast, smart, secure and reliable networks built with its Chinese partners.

OVERVIEW OF ALCATEL-LUCENT
Alcatel-Lucent is an IP networking, ultra-broadband access and cloud applications specialist.

The company employs approximately 52,600 employees as of end 2014 including 20,000 R&D employees. Its products and services are distributed all over the world (North America: 44%, Asia Pacific: 20%, Europe: 23%, Rest of World: 13%).

It is organized in two main operating segments :

  • Core Networking segment including three business divisions: IP Routing, IP Transport and IP Platforms

  • Access segment including four business divisions: Wireless, Fixed Access, Licensing and Managed Services

Alcatel-Lucent's shares are traded on Euronext Paris, which represents the principal trading market for its ordinary shares and on the New York Stock Exchange in the form of American Depository Shares.

Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU)

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