Matra SA and Northern Telecom Ltd yesterday went public with the collaboration flagged here earlier in the week (CI No 1,952): the two will form a holding company that will manage Matra’s $1,200m-a-year Matra Communication jointly; Northern Telecom will invest $265m to buy an initial 20% direct holding in Matra Communication and make a further investment exchangeable into Matra Communication shares from 1995. Matra’s Groupe Speciale Mobile and Personal Communications Network equipment manufacturing business will be put into a 50-50 joint venture between Northern Telecom and Matra Communication, and the two will combine their PABX interests in France, where Matra claims about 20% of the market. They are also considering formation of a centre of excellence in France for telephone sets. Matra Communication and Northern Telecom will also form a 50-50 joint venture on public fixed telecommunications equipment. The partners will also offer to buy out the minority shareholders in Matra Communication at FF295.70 a share – some shares in the subsidiary are publically traded. The new Northern Telecom Matra Cellular Systems will be responsible for developing and supplying cellular infrastructure switching and radio equipment for public networks using ETSI GSM-900 and DCS-1800 specifications and the Radiocom 2000 specification, combining Matra’s base station technology and Northern Telecom’s switches. The Public Network venture will will have responsibility for marketing Northern Telecom’s packet switching and transmission products in France and Northern Telecom will transfer its existing PABX marketing, sales and service organisations into Matra Communication: the two will co-ordinate product and sales policies and develop standard interfaces between their Meridian 1 and Matracom 6500 PABXs. The tie is seen as particularly synergistic, too in telephone handsets, where Northern Telecom is strong in the US and – thanks to STC Plc – in the UK, while Matra is strong in France, Germany and other continental European markets: the two have combined annual sales of 11m phones.
