Predecessor companies
Alcatel-Lucent was formed when Alcatel (originally short for the Société Alsacienne de Constructions Atomiques, de Télécommunications et d'Électronique, a small company in Mulhouse absorbed by CGE in 1966) merged with Lucent Technologies on 1 December 2006. However, the predecessors of the company have been a part of telecommunications industry since the late 19th century. The company has roots in two early telecommunications companies: La Compagnie Générale d'Électricité (CGE) and the Western Electric Manufacturing Company.[6]
Western Electric began in 1869 when Elisha Gray and Enos N. Barton started a manufacturing firm based in Cleveland, Ohio, US. By 1880, the company had relocated to Chicago, Illinois, and become the largest electrical manufacturing company in the United States. In 1881, the American Bell Telephone Company, founded by Alexander Graham Bell and forerunner of American Telephone & Telegraph (AT&T), purchased a controlling interest in Western Electric and made it the exclusive developer and manufacturer of equipment for the Bell telephone companies.[6]
CGE was formed in 1898 by French engineer Pierre Azaria in the Alsace region of what was then Germany and was a conglomerate involved in industries such as electricity, transportation, electronics and telecommunications. CGE would become a leader in digital communications and would also be known for building the TGV (train à grande vitesse) high-speed trains in France.[6]
Bell Telephone Laboratories was created in 1925 from the consolidation of the R&D organizations of Western Electric and AT&T. Bell Labs would make significant scientific advances including the transistor, the laser, the solar cell, the digital signal processor chip, the Unix operating system and the cellular concept of mobile telephone service. Bell Labs researchers have won 7 Nobel Prizes.[6]
Also in 1925, Western Electric sold its International Western Electric Company subsidiary to ITT Corporation. CGE purchased ITT's telecommunications division in the mid-1980s.[6]
AT&T re-entered the European telecommunications market in 1984 following the Bell System divestiture. Philips promoted the venture in part because its PRX public switching technology was aging, and it sought a partner to help fund the development costs of digital switching. The joint company used the existing manufacturing and development facilities in The Hague, Hilversum, Brussels and Malmesbury as well as its U.S. resources to adapt the 5ESS system to the European market. The joint venture company AT&T & Philips Telecommunications BV doubled annual turnover between 1984 and 1987, winning major switching and transmission contracts, mainly in the effectively captive Netherlands market. In 1987, AT&T increased its holding to 60% and in 1990 it purchased the remainder of the Philips' holding.
In 1998, Alcatel Alsthom shifted its focus to the telecommunications industry, spinning off its Alsthom activities and changing the company's name to Alcatel. AT&T spun off Lucent Technologies in April 1996 with an initial public offering (IPO).[6]
In February 2000, Alcatel acquired Canada's Newbridge Networks.
In April 2004, TCL Corporation and Alcatel announced the creation of a mobile phone manufacturing joint venture: Alcatel Mobile Phones. A year later Alcatel sold its share in the joint venture but licensed the Alcatel brand name to TCL, which continues to this day under Nokia.
In April 2006, Alcatel announced that it would swap its shares of Alcatel Alenia Space and Telespazio for €673 million and a 12.1% stake in Thales, a key player in the French defence industry. This increased Alcatel's stake in Thales to 20.8%.[6]
Creation of Alcatel-Lucent
Facing intense competition in the telecommunications industry, Alcatel and Lucent Technologies merged on 30 November 2006.[7]
2006–2015
Alcatel-Lucent acquired Nortel's UMTS radio access business at the end of 2006. During 2007 the company acquired Canadian metro WDM networking supplier Tropic Networks, Inc.; enterprise services gateway products developer NetDevices; IPTV software company Tamblin; and the telecommunications consulting practice Thompson Advisory Group, Inc. Alcatel-Lucent had a joint venture with Dutch company Draka Holding N.V. for manufacturing optical fibre, but Draka bought out Alcatel-Lucent's 49.9% stake for €209 million in December 2007.[8] Motive, Inc., a Texas-based provider of service management software for broadband and mobile data services, was acquired in 2008.[6]
Ben Verwaayen was appointed as chief executive officer in September 2008 after Alcatel-Lucent's first CEO, Patricia Russo, and first chairman, Serge Tchuruk, resigned.[9] In May 2009, Alcatel-Lucent's stake in Thales was acquired by Dassault Aviation
Undersea communications and operations
Alcatel had a long history of domestic and global work in laying the infrastructure of undersea routes for telecommunications.[22] Purchases by Alcatel in the 1990s included the Enderby's Wharf site on the Thames in London, where cables were made from the 1850s;[23] and Les Câbles de Lyon at Calais, established in 1891.[24]
By 2004, Alcatel had several cable ships in undersea operations. According to service logs, there were four ships operated by Louis Dreyfus Armatuers: Ile de Batz, Ile de Brehat, Ile de Re, Ile de Sein. At the same time, Alcatel had a subsidiary, Alcatel Submarine Networks Marine A/S, with cable ships, Heimdal and Lodbrog. Another subsidiary, Alcatel Contracting Norway AS, operated CS Stanelco.[25]
Since Alcatel was a manufacturer of telecommunication components for undersea cables, they also used company repeaters in their operations. Repeaters are used for amplification of the copper cable voice transmission over long distance undersea cables. The manufacturing location, operating since 1858, was in Greenwich, UK for the production of amplifiers, repeaters, and other submerged equipment.
Purchase by Nokia
On 15 April 2015, Finnish telecommunications firm Nokia announced its intent to purchase Alcatel-Lucent for €15.6 billion in an all-stock deal. The acquisition aimed to create a stronger competitor to the rival firms Ericsson and Huawei, whom Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent had surpassed in terms of total combined revenue in 2014. The acquisition was expected to be completed in early 2016, and was subject to regulatory and shareholder approval. Combes left in September and was replaced by Philippe Camus (who had been chairman of the board since 2008) as interim CEO.[32][33] Regulatory approval was obtained in October 2015 and shareholder approval was announced on 4 January 2016. The Bell Labs division would be maintained, but the Alcatel-Lucent brand would be replaced by Nokia.[34][35][36]
