Looking to tap the Internet and data networking markets, Lucent Technologies, Inc. will acquire Livingston Enterprises, Inc. company officials announced today.
The purchase, worth $650 million in Lucent stock, will incur a one-time charge against earnings and is expected to be completed in December, Lucent officials said.
Lucent said that it decided to team with the remote access network provider for its core technologies, strong indirect sales, high revenues and worldwide reach to 2,200 Internet service providers.
The companies' strengths complement each other, according to Harry Bosco, president of Lucent's broadband network group. Livingston is a well-managed company, it has good technological strengths and it will enhance Lucent's Internet-related offerings, he added.
Previously focused solely on providing remote access to ISPs, Livingston is aiming to customize offerings by integrating its products with Lucent's large server and enterprise markets offerings, according to Steve Willens, president and CEO of Livingston. Willens will continue to head the division in Pleasanton, California.
Together, the companies are working to provide end-to-end Internet access.
While benefits from the merger will not be realized for two years, Lucent feels that the 50 percent rate of growth in the Internet access market justifies the purchase. "We have an aggressive plan to pick up revenues," stated Bosco.
The companies are working to enhance and to tailor their offerings to meet customer needs, not to catch competing vendors such as Cisco Systems, Inc., Willens said.
"We believe that we have best-of-breed products," said Steve Willens, adding that "the key to success is getting invited to the table."
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