Deal near for Lucent

Tuesday, May 29, 2001 | 10:45 a.m.

PARIS -- The boards of French telecommunications equipment supplier Alcatel SA and Lucent Technologies Inc. are set to decide whether the French company will acquire its U.S. rival for as much as $32 billion.

The meetings were likely to be followed by an announcement Wednesday, France's Les Echos financial daily said.

Citing a source close to the talks, the newspaper said the deal could still fall through. Some questions remain, such as where the combined company would have its headquarters and the future of a Lucent subsidiary, Agere Systems Inc., the paper said.

archive