By Jody McCoy
The U.S. Justice Department has granted early termination of the antitrust waiting period for the proposed merger of Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent, clearing the way for the companies’ transaction, Wireless Week reported. The deal was announced mid-April that Nokia would buy its smaller French rival for 15.6 billion euros ($16.6 billion). The deal still must be approved by Nokia shareholder. In April Reuters reported, “Nokia will give Alcatel-Lucent shareholders 0.55 shares in the combined company for each of their old shares, putting 33.5 percent of the entity in Alcatel shareholders’ hands if the tender offer is fully taken up.” The deal was originally proposed to close in the first half of 2016, but the DOJ went ahead with approval after Brazil and Serbia gave antitrust clearance.
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