Alcatel-Lucent Has Option on Nortel GSM Business

Alcatel-Lucent is reported to have been granted a call option on the GSM network assets of Nortel Networks. According to an article in the French newspaper, Les Echos - the companies have signed an agreement which would give Alcatel-Lucent a right of first refusal if Nortel was to offer its GSM assets for sale.

According to the report, Alcatel-Lucent would be granted 30 days to put in its own offer before the sale is opened to other buyers.

The agreement gives Alcatel-Lucent the option to acquire a licence to use Nortel's GSM and/or long-term evolution technologies, in return for licensing fees of US$50 million for the GSM technology and US$15 million for the LTE technology, Les Echos said.

The option for the GSM technology runs until 2008 and the option for the LTE technology until 2010.

Last September, Alcatel acquired Nortel's UMTS RAN assets for US$320 million, just prior to the completion of its acquisition of Lucent."

Posted to the site on 23rd March 2007