UPDATE 1-Alcatel moves closer to Genesys sale - sources
Two of the people said on Thursday a transction was close,
while a third person said that, while talks were ongoing, there
was no guarantee a deal would be struck.The Financial Times had reported a sale of the business
would be announced for as much as $1.5 billion in the coming
week.Genesys, which sits within Alcatel-Lucent’s enterprise
division, sells software for the operation of call centres and
video conferencing and is attractive for high margins.Permira had been in exclusive talks to buy the business
since July, but exclusivity came to an end in September, sending
Alcatel-Lucent stock down and raising doubts about an eventual
deal. [ID:nL6E7161N5}Permira’s proposal was selected because it was seen as
carrying less risk. Industrial players Avaya and Cisco
bowed out earlier in the bidding.Gores Group, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm and
Siemens Enterprise Communication had also been looking.Alcatel-Lucent and Permira both declined to comment.
