Nokia has appointed an executive to oversee integration planning for the company's €15.6 billion ($16.8 billion) acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent.
Jorg Erlemeier, Nokia's head of Global Services for the Europe market, will establish and lead an integration steering board, the company said.
This board will provide the structure, processes and working team to set up the required plans for a combined Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent.
“With a strong leader like Jorg in place, we can have confidence that the right integration planning will be underway, leaving the vast majority of the people in Nokia able to keep their attention where it matters: on our customers and our business performance,” Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri said.
The proposed merger has meanwhile captured the attention of analysts. In a blog post, Forrester Research analyst Dan Bieler noted that while a merger will not automatically create a new network solutions powerhouse, it will allow Nokia to better challenge its rivals.
“This deal will mean that Nokia joins the small club of converged network solutions vendors... rejoins the premier league of network solutions providers [and] strengthens its position in the mobile broadband market,” he said.
“The deal [also] highlights the further consolidation of the network infrastructure market. This might bring some respite to the price wars, but it also has wider implications for Nokia’s competitors.”