Alcatel began a series of meetings with top shareholders on Wednesday to secure their backing at its Sept. 7 annual meeting for its all-share deal to acquire U.S. rival Lucent.
The French telecoms network provider will attempt to assuage institutional investors' concerns about the price it plans to pay for Lucent, the corporate governance of the combined group, the resulting balance sheet and the pair's growth prospects.
Alcatel will meet institutional investors in New York on Wednesday, in Boston on Thursday, in Paris on Monday and in Frankfurt and London on Tuesday, it told Reuters.