CORPORATE NEWS:
Submarine telecommunication business: agreement between Alcatel and Pirelli
Alcatel, France, and Pirelli, Italy, have recently announced the signature of an agreement regarding their respective submarine telecommunication businesses. As outlined in the agreement, Alcatel would acquire certain Pirelli related assets and obtain intellectual property rights, while Pirelli would take a 5% shareholding in Alcatel’s submarine business, with associated mutual put and call options. Alcatel would pay Pirelli € 52.5 million for the relevant submarine telecommunication assets and intellectual property rights and Pirelli would pay Alcatel € 45 million for its shareholding in Alcatel’s submarine telecommunication business.
This transaction would allow Alcatel to benefit from diversified business opportunities and enlarged intellectual property rights thereby further strengthening its world-wide lead in optical submarine networks. Alcatel would therefore play a leading role in the consolidation of both leading European submarine networking players to better serve the global market. For Pirelli, the agreement signals a further step forward in focusing on cables and optical fibres, as well as on innovative products for broadband access and second-generation photonics, maintaining at the same time an investment presence in the area of submarine telecommunication systems.
Optical submarine networks are playing an instrumental role in the development of the global Internet infrastructure by interconnecting continents and remote parts of the world with massive, high-speed information highways. Alcatel is the recognised world-wide leader in submarine networks. Connecting every continent with the global network, the French group has laid over 450,000km of submarine networks (11 times the circumference of the globe). The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals. It is expected to be completed by the end of the second quarter of 2004.
Pirelli Telecom Cables & Systems - Viale Sarca 202 - I-20126 Milano - Italy
Fax: Int’l +39 02 644 42 92 64
Website: www.pirelli.com
Company: |
Alcatel |
Country: |
France |
Fax: |
+33 1 47 56 69 24 |
Email: |
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Website: |
www.alcatel.com |