PARIS -- Alcatel (Paris: CGEP, NYSE: ALA) today announced it has acquired GMK, a leading provider of contact center voice self-service solutions in Brazil. Building on Alcatel's industry-leading position in contact center solutions, led by its Genesys subsidiary, the acquisition supports Alcatel's strategy to deliver advanced voice self-service solutions for contact centers and expand further into the Brazilian and Latin American enterprise markets.

Founded in 1984, GMK is based in Sao Paulo, Brazil and currently employs approximately 100 people. GMK has established a market-leading position in the Brazilian voice self-service and interactive voice response (IVR) market. The company currently serves more than 100 customers with a strong market presence in the financial services and outsourcing sectors. GMK will be merged into Alcatel Telecomunicações S.A, Alcatel's subsidiary in Brazil, and GMK employees will become part of the Genesys center of excellence for the local contact center market. This acquisition will enhance Alcatel's and Genesys' market presence and ability to serve local enterprise customers in Brazil and across Latin America. All GMK customers will continue to be supported on their current platforms.

"We welcome the talented people of GMK and congratulate them on their success to date," said Jonio Kahan Foigel, president of Alcatel activities in Brazil. "This acquisition marks a significant step in growing our enterprise business in Brazil, and we look forward to leveraging the strengths of GMK to further build upon Alcatel's success across the Latin American region."

"By acquiring GMK, we are significantly expanding our presence in the Brazilian contact center market," said Wes Hayden, president and CEO of Genesys. "Working closely with the entire management team, we will strongly support the GMK customer base and expand our own investment in Brazil to provide the scale and presence to best serve this market. Together with GMK, we look forward to expanding our expertise and offerings in voice XML applications and self-service, as well as our overall contact center solutions."

"This acquisition brings GMK and its people to the next level and will enable us to deliver our customers not only advanced voice self-service, but also the entire range of Genesys' industry-leading contact center solutions," said Edélcio Fazzio, President of GMK. "We look forward to joining the Alcatel family and having the financial backing and strength of a global company."

Alcatel (NYSE: ALA; Paris: CGEP:PA)