Alcatel Goes Native
Alcatel
(ALA)
agreed Wednesday to pay $55 million in cash to buy U.K.-based Native Networks, which makes gear for handling Internet traffic.
Paris-based Alcatel said the deal builds on a 2003 agreement between the companies to cooperate on developing an Ethernet packet ring technology. Alcatel said acquiring Native will help it build networks that can "cope with increased bandwidth demand and with the need for greater network flexibility."
The deal comes as big telcos and cable operators compete to offer consumers the oft-invoked triple threat of cable television, phone service and high-speed Internet access through one line. Alcatel and rivals such as
Lucent
(LU)
and
Nortel
(NT)
have been expanding their offerings to get a foothold in this market.
"Through this acquisition we are strengthening our value proposition and increasing our ability to address multi-service market requirements with innovative solutions to carry metro Ethernet and triple-play traffic," said Alcatel's Romano Valussi. "This acquisition further demonstrates our commitment to enable our customers to introduce new services into their current and future networks in a cost-efficient way."
On Wednesday, Alcatel slipped 9 cents to $13.11.