Alcatel-Lucent in talks to sell off its enterprise business

Sale would allow company focus on mobile-phone network contracts

Alcatel-Lucent’s  enterprise unit, which sells telecommunications equipment and services to companies, had 2012 revenue of €764 million.
Alcatel-Lucent’s enterprise unit, which sells telecommunications equipment and services to companies, had 2012 revenue of €764 million.

Alcatel-Lucent is in talks to sell its enterprise business to potential buyers, including Unify and Co KG, a Siemens and Gores Group LLC venture, sources said.

The Paris-based enterprise unit, which sells telecommunications equipment and services to companies and had 2012 revenue of €764 million, has also attracted interest from a Chinese investor, a source said.

A sale would allow Alcatel-Lucent to focus on more profitable mobile-phone network contracts and bring the company closer to chief executive Michel Combes’s goal of generating €1 billion from asset disposals by 2015.

The potential buyers are preparing second-round bids, with a decision possible between before March. The unit may be valued at €250 million.