Nokia is reportedly planning to acquire French telecom company Alcatel-Lucent’s mobile networks unit, aiming to boost its wireless business in the US and China.
The companies have not yet made any formal announcement regarding the deal, but Reuters cited French business daily Les Echos as saying that the announcement could come soon.
According to reports, by acquiring Alcatel-Lucent’s wireless assets Nokia is expected to get access to Alcatel’s 1.3 billion mobile subscribers in China, while Alcatel’s IP routing business will also help expand Nokia’s portfolio.
Nokia is said to be more interested in Alcatel‘s wireless business unit, but the Finnish multinational is examining a full takeover of the telecom equipment maker, reported Bloomberg.
The telecom unit of Alcatel generated one-third of the group total sales in 2014, which was €4.7bn.
After the sale of its handset business to Microsoft, Nokia has been focusing upon expansion of its networks business, and reportedly Alcatel and Nokia has been in talks for years, where they have revived talks on a possible merger.
