The Nokia Alcatel-Lucent takeover was finally cleared today, marked by the purchase of all outstanding Alcatel-Lucent shares. This means Nokia will now start eliminating the complexity and costs of running two separate public companies. It caps a three-year transformation that started with the purchase of Siemens' share in Nokia Siemens Networks in 2013 and was followed by the divestments of the Devices & Services and mapping businesses in the next two years.
"While we have been operating as a combined company already since January 2016, we should take a moment to recognize the significance of today's news. This acquisition was smoother than many observers thought possible, and I would like to thank all our employees and partners who made it happen," said Nokia President and CEO, Rajeev Suri.
Nine months after the deal was announced Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent were working as a combined company and, shortly after that, Nokia offering customers its improved product portfolio. The company expects EUR 1.2 billion in annual cost savings to be achieved in full-year 2018.
