Alcatel-Lucent To Sell Genesys

Alcatel-Lucent recently announced that it has received a binding offer for the acquisition of its Genesys business. Permira, the company purchasing Genesys, is offering $1.5 billion, to be paid in cash on a debt/cash-free basis.

As per the deal, Permira would receive Genesys' approximately 1,800 employees, as well as its management team and current business structure. The deal is subject to review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, and is expected to close near the end of 2011.

“Given the inevitable option that one or more parts of the ALU portfolio would be sold, this seems to make the most sense, and will preserve the Genesys brand, along with critical components for customers, such as joint development and cross licensing agreements," said Nancy Jamison, President & Principal Analyst at Jamison Consulting and UCStrategies UC Expert.

According to Blair Pleasant, UCStrategies co-founder, “At first glance, this looks like a good opportunity for Genesys, as it can be independent again and not associated with any particular voice vendor. But there are lots of questions outstanding – what will be the impact on the joint sales team channel partners that just got used to selling combined Genesys/ALU Enterprise products, and how will the two companies continue to work together in the future? Also, how will ALU strengthen the Enterprise Division, as Ben Verwaayen, ALU CEO noted in the press release? There were some good synergies between the companies that I hope will continue going forward.”

For more information, visit www.alcatel-lucent.com or www.permira.com.