EU approves Nokia´s Alcatel-Lucent deal

The European commission has given the green light to the proposed acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent by Nokia.

The Commission has the duty to assess mergers and acquisitions involving companies with a turnover above certain thresholds (see Article 1 the Merger Regulation) and to prevent concentrations that would significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area or any substantial part of it.

In addition, there will be a number of strong competitors remaining after a merger, the Commission said, singling out for mention Ericsson, Huawei, ZTE and Samsung. The deadline for an antitrust investigation by US authorities has also expired. Company shares have received an average consensus rating of Hold for the current week Shares of Alcatel Lucent (NYSE:ALU) appreciated by 1.68% during the past week but lost 4.72% on a 4-week basis. The deal is supposed to be completed by mid-2016, although Alcatel-Lucent hinted that closing could come earlier since some key regulatory approvals had already been secured. However, Nokia’s shareholders are yet to approve the transaction. The 52-week high of the share price is -20.87% and 52-week low of the share price is 7.67%.

Nokia is very present in Europe, where Alcatel is only a minor player.

Alcatel-Lucent has dropped 8.33% during the last 3-month period. Out of the total, Verizon and AT&T jointly contributed more than 25%.

The merged entity can effectively capitalize on the emerging Internet-of-thing (IoT) platform and offer triple-play voice, video and data solutions throughout the world. However, Alctael-Lucent is very present in North America, where Nokia is less so.

Finland-based Nokia now focuses on three main businesses: Nokia Networks (network infrastructure software, hardware and services); HERE (location intelligence); and Nokia Technologies (advanced technology development and licensing).

Alcatel-Lucent S.A. of France and the United States is active in the provision of fixed and mobile network equipment, as well as related services to telecommunications network operators worldwide. Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.