Rumor: Zhone's New HomeRumor: Zhone's New Home

Is Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) about to become Zhone's new landlord?

A tipster writes that a "long-time Zhone employee" said that the company is selling its Oakland, Calif., headquarters location and will soon be leasing space "in Ascend's old buildings, now owned by Alcatel-Lucent."

We'll check on Zhone Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: ZHNE)'s HQ status shortly. In the meantime, it's a believable tip, given that Zhone is seeing its customer base consolidate as its competitors get stronger, and is expecting operating losses and negative cashflow for the foreseeable future.

The company's latest filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) include a very broad-based warning that can't help but fuel such speculation: "In order to meet the Company’s liquidity needs and finance its capital expenditures and working capital needs for the business, the Company may need to raise additional capital through the issuance of debt or equity financing or the sale of assets."

— Phil Harvey, Editor-in-Chief, Light Reading