It's on.
Alcatel (NYSE: ALA; Paris: CGEP:PA) and
Lucent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: LU) investors have voted in favor of the duo's merger at their respective meetings in Paris and Wilmington, Del.
About one hour after the meeting began (11 a.m. Eastern), and only a matter of minutes after voting closed, Lucent told its investors that votes representing about 2.3 billion, or 51.97 percent, of outstanding shares have voted in favor of the transatlantic marriage.
Lucent needed only a majority in favor of the deal to have the merger resolution passed.
Then, just minutes later, Alcatel's shareholders voted in favor of all the necessary resolutions in Paris.
The coffee and croissants must have been OK, then. (See
The Pastry Factor.)
Now the two companies are in the final stages of creating a giant telecom vendor with annual revenues of $25 billion. The two companies have said previously they hope to close the merger by the end of this year. (See
Alcatel/Lucent Decide on New Name and
Alcatel, Lucent Seal Deal.)
When the two companies first announced their intention to merge, the duo had a combined market capitalization of $36 billion. But both vendors have seen their share prices slump since the April announcement –- Alcatel's from $15.40 to $11.80 and Lucent's from $3.05 to $2.26 – and now their combined valuations are $26.33 billion, a fall of nearly 27 percent.
— Ray Le Maistre, International News Editor,
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