Newbridge buy to help Alcatel's carrier ambitions : Deal gives Alcatel ATM presence.(Company Business and Marketing)

PARIS-BASED networking company Alcatel, seeking to become a serious contender in the carrier-class telecommunications equipment market, announced last week plans to acquire Newbridge Networks in a stock deal valued at $7.1 billion.

The acquisition will make Alcatel a leading player in the ATM equipment market, competing with companies such as Lucent, Cisco, and Nortel, and will also help the company establish more of a presence in North America, observers said.

"Alcatel has not historically done a good job of focusing on doing the things that are critical to success in North America, [but] they have done quite well outside the U.S.," said Laurie Gooding, a …