Update: Alcatel, Lucent shareholders approve merger
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(InfoWorld) - Shareholders of Alcatel SA and Lucent Technologies Inc. approved the companies' merger plansÂ Thursday, clearing one of the last hurdles to a mammoth consolidation in the communications equipment business. The merger scraped by at Lucent's special shareholder meeting Thursday in Wilmington, Delaware. It required 50 percent of the vote and received 51.97 percent, according to spokesman John Skalko. Alcatel, meeting in Paris, required a two-thirds vote of shareholders. All resolutions related to the merger were approved by at least 85 percent of the Alcatel shareholders who voted, said Alcatel spokesman Charlie Guyer. The two networking and telecommunications equipment manufacturers announced their intention to merge in April. The combined entity will have annual revenue of around â¬21 billion (US$25 billion), based on the companies' 2005 financial results. Lucent Chief Executive Officer Patricia Russo will become CEO of the combined company, which is to be called Alcatel Lucent, while Alcatel CEO Serge Tchuruk will become a non-executive chairman. Lucent, based in Murray Hill, New Jersey, is incorporated in Delaware. The merged company will be based in Paris, Alcatel's hometown. Alcatel and Lucent expect that the merged entity will make annual cost savings of about â¬1.4 billion, around half of that from job cuts. They plan to cut 9,000 from their combined payroll of 88,000. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission approved the deal in June, and the European Commission gave its consent in July. The largest remaining obstacle is convincing the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. that the deal presents no threat to national security. To allay such fears, Lucent will set up a separate subsidiary run by U.S. citizens to handle sensitive research and development work for the U.S. government, while in France, Alcatel agreed to sell its satellite business to French aerospace electronics group Thales SA for similar reasons. The proposed deal has run into opposition from some investment companies and shareholders. Lucent announced on Friday it had settled two shareholder lawsuits that could have delayed Thursday's vote. Shares of both companies have fallen from their April levels, though they have made some gains in the past few weeks.
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Communications regulators said on  Thursday they had approved the buyout of radio operator Clear  Channel Communications Inc by two private equity firms.
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By SOPHIE FREEMAN Daily Post Business Staff  THE merger between Carphone Warehouse and the UK arm of AOL was approved by the European Commission yesterday, after the regulatory body decided the move would not "significantly impede" effective competition in the sector.
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Alcatel-Lucent opened for business Friday as one of the world's biggest telecom gear makers, signaling a new push into enterprise markets eight months after Alcatel agreed to buy U.S. rival Lucent in a deal worth $11.6 billion.
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InfoWorld - Alcatel-Lucent reported higher sales but a net loss for the fourth quarter due to a big writedown in its CDMA (code division multiple access) and IP (Internet protocol) multimedia services businesses.
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Cingular Wireless today announced it has completed its previously announced merger with AT&amp;T Wireless, creating the nation&#39;s biggest wireless carrier with the
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PARIS  --  Alcatel SA and Lucent Technologies Inc. overcame shareholder misgivings to win firm backing Thursday for their $10.7 billion tie-up to create a major global telecommunications equipment maker.
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WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission today conditionally approved the $41 billion merger of Cingular Wireless LLC and AT&amp;T Wireless Services Inc.
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Alcatel SA   completed  its acquisition of Lucent Technologies Inc.  on Thursday,  creating one of the world's biggest suppliers of network  equipment for mobile phones and high-speed Internet.
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The Justice Department yesterday approved the $41 billion merger of Cingular Wireless LLC and AT&amp;T Wireless Services Inc., requiring the combined company to sell off some assets in 11 states in order to satisfy antitrust concerns.
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The job cuts are in addition to 12,500 cuts announced in February. Together, they amount to 20 percent of the work force of Alcatel and Lucent when they combined.
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Lucent Technologies has averted a potentially embarrassing delay of its shareholder vote on a merger with Alcatel,Â settling two suits by shareholdersÂ who said the deal doesn't maximize shareholder value.
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Alcatel has signed a preliminary   agreement to buy Nortel's third generation UMTS cell phone   network unit for $320 million, aiming to achieve greater scale   amid cut-throat price competition.
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Network equipment companies Alcatel SA  and Lucent Technologies Inc.  said on Thursday they had completed their merger, creating one of the world's biggest suppliers of network equipment for mobile phones and high-speed Internet communications.
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The $10.7 billion merger was approved despite the doubts of Alcatel investors over the financial health of their new American partner.
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Alcatel-Lucent, a telecoms equipment giant valued at 21.5 billion euros (27 billion dollars), began life after the merger of French group Alcatel and its former US rival Lucent.
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Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer shareholders voted overwhelmingly on Friday to approve the film studio's sale to a Sony Corp.-led consortium that includes cable television giant Comcast Corp.