Filed by Alcatel
Pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act of 1933
And Deemed Filed Pursuant to Rule 14a-12
Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Subject Company: Lucent Technologies Inc.
Commission File No. 001-11639
On July 25, 2006, Alcatel posted the message below on its internal website.
Merger Update - another important milestone reached
Last night, the European Commission unconditionally approved the merger of Alcatel and Lucent Technologies under the European Union’s competition rules.
This decision came in response to the parties’ mandatory pre-merger notification,1 filed in Brussels on June 16.
The approval is effective for all 25 of the EU Member States, as well as the three additional European Economic Area members.2
The Commission noted that Alcatel and Lucent have complementary products and markets and there are some overlaps in their activities in Europe, the most significant of which are in the markets for broadband access solutions, optical network solutions and ATM switches/IP routers. However, the Commission found that these markets are characterized by considerable competition with numerous suppliers, including new entrants, and rapid technological change so the proposed merger would simply strengthen the parties’ ability to compete successfully rather than create a position of dominance.
The Commission based its analysis on information submitted by the parties and on the responses of customers, competitors and other third parties to questionnaires sent by the Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition as part of its routine market investigation.
This critical milestone follows clearances granted under antitrust/competition law by the U.S. Department of Justice on June 7.
The two companies are still waiting for regulatory approvals from countries such as Canada, China and Brazil, as well as clearance by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), clearance from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and France’s AMF and the ratification by the shareholders of Alcatel and Lucent on Sept. 7.
__________________________
|
1 |
Pursuant to Council Regulation No. 139/2004 of 20 January 2004 on the Control of Concentrations Between Undertakings (the so-called EU “Merger Regulation”), requiring mergers to be notified to Brussels when the parties’ annual turnover exceeds a certain level. |
|
2 |
Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. |
Once these steps have been achieved, Alcatel and Lucent will be very close to the finish line and we remain confident that we will close this merger by the end of this calendar year. Until then, the “Do’s and Don’ts” will continue to apply: we must be particularly mindful of anti-trust rules barring competitors such as Alcatel and Lucent from collaborating on proposals or presentations to customers or coordinating other critical non-merger related business activities in similar ways.
SAFE HARBOR FOR FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS AND OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION
This document contains statements regarding the proposed transaction between Lucent and Alcatel, the expected timetable for completing the transaction, future financial and operating results, benefits and synergies of the proposed transaction and other statements about Lucent and Alcatel's managements' future expectations, beliefs, goals, plans or prospects that are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about Lucent and Alcatel and the combined company, as well as Lucent's and Alcatel's and the combined company's future performance and the industries in which Lucent and Alcatel operate and the combined company will operate, in addition to managements' assumptions. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "targets," "goals," "projects," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements which are not statements of historical facts. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to assess. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties are based upon a number of important factors including, among others: the ability to consummate the proposed transaction; difficulties and delays in obtaining regulatory approvals for the proposed transaction; difficulties and delays in achieving synergies and cost savings; potential difficulties in meeting conditions set forth in the definitive merger agreement entered into by Lucent and Alcatel; fluctuations in the telecommunications market; the pricing, cost and other risks inherent in long-term sales agreements; exposure to the credit risk of customers; reliance on a limited number of contract manufacturers to supply products we sell; the social, political and economic risks of our respective global operations; the costs and risks associated with pension and postretirement benefit obligations; the complexity of products sold; changes to existing regulations or technical standards; existing and future litigation; difficulties and costs in protecting intellectual property rights and exposure to infringement claims by others; and compliance with environmental, health and safety laws. For a more complete list and description of such risks and uncertainties, refer to Lucent's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2005 and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for the periods ended December 31, 2005 and March 31, 2006 and Alcatel's annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2005 as well as other filings by Lucent and Alcatel with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Except as required under the U.S. federal securities laws and the rules and regulations of the SEC, Lucent and Alcatel disclaim any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements after the distribution of this document, whether as a result of new information, future events, developments, changes in assumptions or otherwise.
IMPORTANT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FILED WITH THE SEC
In connection with the proposed transaction between Lucent and Alcatel, Alcatel has filed a registration statement on Form F-4 (File no. 333-133919) (the "Form F-4") to register the Alcatel ordinary shares underlying the Alcatel American Depositary Shares ("ADS") to be issued in the proposed transaction. Alcatel and Lucent have also filed, and intend to continue to file, additional relevant materials with the SEC, including a registration statement on Form F-6 (the "Form F-6" and together with the Form F-4, the "Registration Statements") to register the Alcatel ADSs to be issued in the proposed transaction. The Registration Statements and the related proxy statement/prospectus contain and will contain important information about Lucent, Alcatel, the proposed transaction and related matters. Investors and security holders are urged to read the Registration Statements and the related proxy statement/prospectus carefully, and any other relevant documents filed with the SEC, including all amendments, because they contain important information. Investors and security holders may obtain free copies of the documents filed with the SEC by Lucent and Alcatel (including the Form F-4 and, when filed, the Form F-6) through the web site maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov. In addition, investors and security holders may obtain free copies of materials filed with the SEC by Lucent and Alcatel (including the Form F-4 and, when filed, the Form F-6) by contacting Investor Relations at www.lucent.com, by mail to 600 Mountain Avenue, Murray Hill, New Jersey 07974 or by telephone at 908-582-8500 and from Alcatel by contacting Investor Relations at www.alcatel.com, by mail to 54, rue La Boétie, 75008 Paris, France or by telephone at 33-1-40-76-10-10.
Lucent and its directors and executive officers also may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the stockholders of Lucent in connection with the transaction described herein. Information regarding the special interests of these directors and executive officers in the transaction described herein is included in the Form F-4 (and will be included in the definitive proxy statement/prospectus for the proposed transaction). Additional information regarding these directors and executive officers is also included in Lucent's proxy statement for its 2006 annual meeting of stockholders, which was filed with the SEC on or about January 3, 2006. This document is available free of charge at the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov and from Lucent by contacting Investor Relations at www.lucent.com, by mail to 600 Mountain Avenue, Murray Hill, New Jersey 07974 or by telephone at 908-582-8500.
Alcatel and its directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the stockholders of Lucent in connection with the transaction described herein. Information regarding the special interests of these directors and executive officers in the transaction described herein is included in the Form F-4 (and will be included in the definitive proxy statement/prospectus for the proposed transaction). Additional information regarding these directors and executive officers is also included in Alcatel's annual report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC on March 31, 2006. This document is available free of charge at the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov and from Alcatel by contacting Investor Relations at www.alcatel.com, by mail to 54, rue La Boétie, 75008 Paris, France or by telephone at 33-1-40-76-10-10.