INTERVIEW - Lucent searches for more acquisitions
By Jessica Hall
NEW YORK, April 22 (Reuters) - Lucent Technologies Inc.
<LU.N>, which has spent more than $3 billion on acquisitions
over the past year, is still searching for potential targets, Donald
Peterson, its chief financial officer, said Wednesday.
Analysts and industry sources have speculated Lucent may make a
major acquisition later this year when it is freed from a two-year
restriction against pooling-of-interest combinations that would
unravel its favorable tax-free spin-off from AT&T.
But Peterson said the company would not necessarily wait until the
restriction ends on October 1 before making another acquisition.
He declined to name any specific targets or sectors.
"We have not been in a strategy of waiting. We actively look at
acquisitions and made half a dozen in the last year ... and we'll
continue to do that," Peterson said in an interview after the
company announced better-than-expected quarterly earnings.
"I would not see a gate up there that keeps us from doing anything
that we think is essential. These markets move too quickly to think
you're going to sit out until you're ready," he said.
Since its spin-off from AT&T in 1996, Lucent has acquired
companies in areas such as microelectronics, messaging and data
networking.
"We'll continue to look in those areas and others. I wouldn't rule
out any area of our business for potential acquisitions if it made
sense within our business strategy," he said.
Lucent is a leader in the telecommunications equipment market and
is becoming an increasingly powerful player in the data and
Internet markets, analysts said.
Analysts said Lucent could use an acquisition to leap-frog into a
leading position in the data market or to extend its reach
internationally. A wide range of companies, including Cisco
Systems Inc. <CSCO.O> and Finland's Nokia Ab <NOKSa.HE>,
have been mentioned as potential targets.
Lucent's acquisition prospects -- as well as the company's solid
fundamentals and rosy long-term growth outlook -- have pushed its
shares up more than 90 percent since the beginning of the year. |
