Alcatel and Lucent complete merger
—creating world’s leading communication solutions provider
By Asghar Ali Mubarak

Alcatel (Paris: CGEP.PA and NYSE: ALA) and Lucent Technologies (NYSE: LU) announced the completion of their merger transaction and that they will begin operations as the world's leading communication solutions provider on December 1st, 2006. The new company Alcatel-Lucent, with one of the largest global R&D capabilities in communications and the broadest wireless, wireline and services portfolio, is incorporated in France, with executive offices located in Paris. The company will be traded on Euronext Paris and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) from December 1st, 2006 under a new common ticker (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU). As a result of the merger, each outstanding share of Lucent common stock has been converted into the right to receive 0.1952 of an Alcatel ADS. In connection with the merger, Alcatel has issued approximately 878 million shares, which is equivalent to the total number of ADS to be issued to the holders of Lucent common stock. Following the completion of the merger, approximately 2.31 billion ordinary shares of Alcatel-Lucent are outstanding.

Serge Tchuruk, appointed as Chairman of the Board of Alcatel-Lucent, said: “Alcatel-Lucent will be for our customers a partner with the scale and scope to design, build and manage increasingly complex networks that deliver advanced converged services and communications experience to the end-user. That is what Alcatel-Lucent will deliver with an unparalleled focus on execution, innovation and service for our customers: the company will have the most experienced global services team in the telecommunications industry, as well as one of the largest research, technology and innovation organizations in the industry. In fact, our combined company is ideally positioned to help our customers transform their networks so they can offer new kinds of personalized, blended applications and services.”

Patricia Russo, appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Alcatel-Lucent, Patricia Russo is Chief Executive Officer of Alcatel-Lucent.
Prior to the merger of Alcatel and Lucent Technologies, Patricia Russo was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lucent. As one of the founding executives of the company, she helped launch Lucent in 1996 and spent more than 20 years of her career managing some of Lucent's and AT&T's largest divisions and most critical corporate functions.
As Lucent's CEO since January 2002, Patricia Russo led the company through one of the most challenging periods in the telecom industry's history and helped return the company to profitability. Under her leadership, Lucent implemented a new operating model, developed a more customer- and marketing-driven culture, won new business in emerging markets, expanded the role and reach of Bell Labs, and successfully completed its merger with Alcatel to create the world’s first truly global communications solutions provider.
In addition to serving on Alcatel-Lucent's board of directors, Patricia Russo sits on the board of the Schering-Plough Corporation, where she chairs the governance committee.
Patricia Russo received her undergraduate degree from Georgetown and completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University in 1989. She has received an Honorary Doctorate of Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology, as well as an Honorary Doctorate in Entrepreneurial Studies from Columbia College in South Carolina.
Before joining AT&T in 1981, Patricia Russo spent eight years in sales and marketing at IBM. Patricia also served as president and chief operating officer at Eastman Kodak Company before returning to Lucent as CEO.She added: “Through this merger, we are bringing together two top-ranking companies to form an undisputed leader in the industry, a company poised to enrich people’s lives by transforming the way the world communicates. Alcatel-Lucent is a strong and enduring ally that service providers, governments and enterprises can count on to help them unlock new market and revenue opportunities. This combination represents a strategic fit of vision, geography, solutions and people, leveraging the best of both companies to deliver meaningful communications solutions that are personalized, simple to adopt and available globally. Both Alcatel and Lucent embraced a common culture of innovation and excellence that will help ensure the success of our merger.”

A global communications solutions provider
With a comprehensive and diversified portfolio of complementary products, Alcatel-Lucent is well-positioned to address the fastest growing areas of network transformation. The company is a leader in IPTV, broadband access, carrier IP, IMS and next-generation networks, and 3G spread spectrum (UMTS and CDMA). With more than 18,000 employees working in services worldwide, the company has the largest and most experienced global services team in the industry. In enterprise communications solutions, Alcatel-Lucent is No. 1 in Europe and has more than 250,000 enterprise and government customers worldwide.

A global reach with local presence
With a worldwide presence in 130 countries, 79,000 employees (after completion of the Thales transaction) and balanced revenues across all regions, Alcatel-Lucent has strong customer relationships with the 100 largest telecommunications operators in the world. The company will have four geographic regions: Asia-Pacific, Europe and North, Europe and South and North America, to answer the needs of service providers, enterprises and end-users in the most advanced telecommunication markets, as well as in high-growth economies.

There will be five Business Groups: the Wireline Business Group, the Wireless Business Group and the Convergence Business Group (addressing the needs of the carrier market), the Enterprise Business Group and the Service Business Group. Each Business Group will have a decentralized regional organization that will provide strong local support to customers.

In addition there will be several corporate functions that support the company including worldwide integrated supply chain and procurement, finance, information technology, marketing, human resources, legal and communications.

“While our respective corporate structures have changed, one constant remains: our commitment to be a first class corporate citizen and to act in a socially responsible way in interactions with all our stakeholders,” said Patricia Russo.

Unrivaled breadth and depth of research and innovation expertise
Approximately 23,000 of the 79,000 total number of employees at Alcatel-Lucent are in R&D, including global Bell Labs which will remain headquartered in New Jersey, USA. With Euro 2.7 billion invested in R&D in calendar year 2005 by Alcatel and Lucent and 25,000 active patents, Alcatel-Lucent stands as an innovation powerhouse, featuring one of the largest global R&D capabilities in communications ready to partner and collaborate with customers on breakthrough technology. Alcatel-Lucent also leads standards initiatives with some 600 experts participating in 130 standardization bodies.

Creating Shareholder Value
Significant cost synergies are expected to be achieved within three years of closing and will come from several areas, including consolidating support functions, optimizing the supply chain and procurement structure, leveraging R&D and services across a larger base, and reducing the combined worldwide workforce by approximately 9,000 employees. The merger is expected to result in approximately Euro 1.4 billion in pre-tax annual cost synergies. A substantial majority of the restructuring activity is expected to be completed within 24 months after closing. The transaction is expected to be accretive to earnings per share in the first year post closing with synergies, excluding restructuring charges and amortization of intangible assets.

Corporate governance
The 14 Members of the Board of Directors are: Daniel Bernard, W. Frank Blount, Jozef Cornu, Linnet Deily, Robert Denham, Edward Hagenlocker, Jean-Pierre Halbron, Karl Krapek, Daniel Lebègue, Patricia Russo, Henry Schacht and Serge Tchuruk, and two additional jointly agreed directors appointed by the Alcatel-Lucent Board: Sylvia Jay and Jean-Cyril Spinetta, who were not members of either Alcatel Board of Directors or Lucent Board of Directors prior to the merger. There will be two Board observers representing the employee shareholders of the company’s Employee Investment Fund: Jean-Pierre Desbois and Thierry de Loppinot.


About Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) provides solutions that enable service providers, enterprises and governments worldwide, to deliver voice, data and video communication services to end-users. As a leader in fixed, mobile and converged broadband networking, IP technologies, applications, and services, Alcatel-Lucent offers the end-to-end solutions that enable compelling communications services for people at home, at work and on the move. With 79,000 employees and operations in more than 130 countries, Alcatel-Lucent is a local partner with global reach. The company has the most experienced global services team in the industry, and one of the largest research, technology and innovation organizations in the telecommunications industry. Alcatel-Lucent achieved proforma combined revenues of Euro 18.6 billion in 2005, and is incorporated in France, with executive offices located in Paris.