[Everything Goes]

Nokia is in talks to buy Alcatel-Lucent. Will anyone care?

Quote:

Nokia are in "advanced discussions with respect to a potential full combination, which would take the form of a public exchange offer by Nokia for Alcatel-Lucent."

Nokia said there can be no certainty at this stage that these discussions "will result in any agreement or transaction."

A further announcement will be made when appropriate.

Alca-Lu made posted sales of €13.2bn (£9.5bn) for its full-year 2014. Nokia’s full year 2014 net sales of €12.7bn (£9.2bn).

However, Alca-Lu recorded a net loss of €83m (£60m). Nokia’s operating profit was €170m (£123m) in 2014.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/04...lucent_buyout/

[moox]

Slightly logical given that they already own a network infrastructure division and they need something to do now that they've offloaded the phone division. Feeling the heat from the likes of Huawei or ZTE perhaps?

I can see the competition authorities getting involved, and since the Lucent part is American, I'm sure US protectionism will apply

[clonmult]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Everything Goes

Nokia is in talks to buy Alcatel-Lucent. Will anyone care?

A fair percentage of the network infrastructure that you use is running Nokia kit, some will be Ericsson, Alcatel, Hauwei ... and as Alcatel and Nokia are the third and fourth largest, they'll rival Ericsson in size.

So yes, people should care.

[Everything Goes]

The combined group would have a 22% market share.

[magicdesign]

Let's hope they would build the network components a little better than they do with their handsets...

[moox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by magicdesign

Let's hope they would build the network components a little better than they do with their handsets...

Given how legendary "old" Nokia used to be for their phones' build quality, I'm not sure that's a fair thing to say. Microsoft might have started to cheap out though.

[magicdesign]

I was talking about the present rather than the past.

Almost every lumia that Nokia made had screen touch issues, overheating issues, screen flicker issues, battery issues ... I could go on.

[alan1302]

Quote:

Originally Posted by magicdesign

I was talking about the present rather than the past.

Almost every lumia that Nokia made had screen touch issues, overheating issues, screen flicker issues, battery issues ... I could go on.

Didn't manage to get any issues like those on my two Lumias or my wifes...found them to be some of the better made and robust phones I've had rcently.

[Gigabit]

I want to see Nokia (actual Nokia, not fake Microsoft Nokia) making Android devices. I reckon they'd be great devices.

[magicdesign]

Quote:

Originally Posted by alan1302

Didn't manage to get any issues like those on my two Lumias or my wifes...found them to be some of the better made and robust phones I've had rcently.

I was not talking specifically about you. Rather their handsets in general.

[clonmult]

Quote:

Originally Posted by magicdesign

I was not talking specifically about you. Rather their handsets in general.

Their handsets in general, which generally have a reputation for being reliable?

Anyway, Nokia Networks is effectively a totally different company to their old mobiles division.

[magicdesign]

Quote:

Originally Posted by clonmult

Anyway, Nokia Networks is effectively a totally different company to their old mobiles division.

True.

[Everything Goes]

A bit of analysis of the possible merger:

Quote:

Analyst firm Ovum yesterday offered the following commentary on the transaction, based on speculation. Here's what chief research officer Mark Newman had to say:

When you consider the strengths and weaknesses of Alcatel-Lucent and Nokia and their product portfolios, a merger of the two businesses seems logical. Nokia is a mobile-only equipment vendor, while Alcatel-Lucent’s strengths are in the fixed network business (especially core network and IP routing). It has long-struggled in the wireless business, and its attempts to become a leading player in LTE have failed. Alcatel-Lucent has also been active in SDN/NFV with CloudBand and Nuage and aggressive with small cells – areas where Nokia is perceived to be lagging behind competition.

But there are also risks. A full merger would plunge both businesses back into a period of introspection and restructuring. It would create significant duplication in areas such as mobile broadband and small cells. Maintaining two different product portfolios and servicing existing customers would counteract the benefits of increased scale.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/04...r_156_billion/