Alcatel to Acquire Tele Danmark's Marine Division; Alcatel Strengthens Its Unique Marine Installation and Maintenance Services for Submarine Networks
BusinessWire, 08/17/2000 15:19
PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 17, 2000--Alcatel, the world leader in optical networking, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Tele Danmark's marine division.
Through this acquisition, Alcatel will reinforce its marine capabilities for submarine networks by managing five cable vessels. Alcatel will thus be in a position to offer unique installation and maintenance services to its customers. The transaction is worth approximately EURO 121 million.
Thanks to this acquisition, Alcatel will handle five state-of-the-art vessels ideally suited to different kinds of submarine network operations, covering both cable installation and system maintenance. Based in Copenhagen, Denmark, this unit, which counts approximately 200 people, will become the key submarine network maintenance management center of Alcatel.
"The acquisition of Tele Danmark's Marine division shows Alcatel's willingness to directly manage its own fleet comprising state-of-the-art cable vessels with highly qualified crew on board. This will allow us to provide our customers with exclusive installation and maintenance services," said Christian Reinaudo, president of Alcatel's Optics Group. "With Tele Danmark's team, we will be joined by highly experienced people regarding marine activities, a key asset in today's submarine network market to serve our customer in due time and with the highest level of quality."
"We are pleased to see our marine business join Alcatel since they are the world leader of the booming submarine network market," said Henning Vest, executive vice-president of Tele Danmark. "We have a strong know-how in this field, having a comprehensive track record and an operational excellence well recognized in the industry."
Closing of the transaction will be subject to customary conditions, and is expected for October 2000.
About Alcatel
In November 1999, RHK, a leading telecommunications analyst firm, said that Alcatel holds a 21 percent share -- the number one position -- of the world's total transport market, which comprises submarine and terrestrial transmission systems. RHK noted that Alcatel's market-leading 37 percent market share in the submarine networks segment helped secure the top position in the total transport market. In addition, RHK found that Alcatel commands a 37 percent share of the digital cross-connect systems (DCS) segment. Cross-connect systems contain the enabling technology for operators to offer high bandwidth services. Alcatel is also cited as the global leader in terms of DWDM market share for the global market encompassing both terrestrial and submarine applications.
Alcatel is the world leader in delivering full turnkey submarine network solutions and services. Alcatel leads this industry in terms of: -- having the highest sold capacity up to 5.12Tbit/s for the
long-haul systems and 3.6Tbit/s for the short-haul ones, using the
latest DWDM technology; -- having the largest manufacturing capacity at 85,000 km per year
strategically located around the globe; -- using nine dedicated purposed-designed vessels for a tight control
on the delivery schedule. Current contracts, worth US$ 4.5+
billion, include the most advanced undersea networks in the world
today: Atlantica-1 and FLAG Atlantic-1 systems in the Atlantic,
the FLAG Pacific-1, Japan-US and Southern Cross transpacific
systems, and the MAC and MAYA-1 systems in the Americas and the
SAT-3 around Africa.
Alcatel builds next generation networks, delivering integrated end-to-end voice and data networking solutions to established and new carriers, as well as enterprises and consumers worldwide. With 120,000 employees and sales of EURO 23 billion in 1999, Alcatel operates in more than 130 countries. For more information, visit Alcatel on the Internet: alcatel.com
About Tele Danmark
Tele Danmark is the principal provider of a full range of telecommunications services in Denmark and holds significant interests in a range of telecom companies across Northern and Continental Europe. Tele Danmark has 16 operations in 12 countries. Domestic activities include landline and cellular telephone services, data communications, Internet, leased lines, cable television and directory services. The company was privatized in 1994 and today SBC Communications owns 42 percent of the shares, with the remaining shares held by individual and institutional shareowners all over the world. Tele Danmark's 1999 Net revenues were DKKbn 38.2, a growth of 14 percent. Earnings per share before one-time items were 16.23 DKK a growth of 19.2 percent. For more information, visit Tele Danmark on the Internet: teledanmark.com
CONTACT: Alcatel
Brian Murphy (media)
972/519-6677
Brian.murphy@usa.alcatel.com |
