Alcatel-Lucent Buys Service Management Software Firm

Alcatel-Lucent has entered into an agreement to acquire Motive, a provider of service management software for broadband and mobile data services for approximately US$67.8 million. The acquisition extends a three-year relationship between Alcatel-Lucent and Motive. The two companies jointly develop and sell remote management software solutions for automating the deployment, configuration and support of home networking devices called residential gateways.

Today Alcatel-Lucent and Motive have more than 40 joint customers including AT&T, Verizon, BT, Vodafone Portugal and Swisscom.

Alcatel-Lucent also resells MotiveÃ's solutions that help service providers seamlessly integrate voice, video and data into a single, connected experience by automating and remotely managing key customer touch points throughout the service lifecycle, across multiple services, networks and devices.

"Motive has always been an innovator in helping service providers shorten service activation time and increasing customer satisfaction with broadband services by developing solutions allowing better visibility into home networks," said Luis Martinez Amago, President of Alcatel-LucentÃ's fixed access activities. "Integrating MotiveÃ's broadband and mobile service management expertise with our portfolio of wireline and wireless access technologies will allow customers to offer a new generation of complex services, blurring the boundaries between fixed and mobile networks, and increasing customer retention but without adding operational complexity."

Motive has 300 employees worldwide with R&D operations in Austin, Texas and Bangalore, India and will become part of Alcatel-LucentÃ's Fixed Access Division, within the Carrier Business Group.

The purchase price of USD 2.23 per share represents a premium of approximately 53% over the closing price of the shares on June 16, 2008 and a premium of approximately 51% over the average closing price of the shares for the 90 days prior to June 16, 2008. The transaction is expected to close by early in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Posted to the site on 18th June 2008