Alcatel shares soar on Lucent deal amid satellite talks

PARIS (AFP) — Shares in French telecom technology group Alcatel rose 4.78 percent after a weekend announcement that it would acquire Lucent to form a global giant worth about 33.0 billion dollars (27.5 billion euros).

Alcatel shares peaked earlier in the day, jumping by 8.22 percent at the start of the day, before closing at 13.38 euros as the CAC 40 closed up 0.66 percent overall -- its highest closing level in four and a half years.

Alcatel is about twice as big as Lucent. The agreement creates the second-biggest telecom technology group in the world, but only one quarter the size of the biggest, US group Cisco Systems capitalised at about 133.0 billion dollars.

It is also seen as increasing pressure for a vast and imminent reorganisation of the European satellite technology business involving Alcatel and Thales of France and the European ...