Alcatel, Lucent flirt with future.(Company Business and Marketing)

REPORTS PERSISTED last week that French telecom giant Alcatel will buy or merge with beleaguered networking hardware vendor Lucent Technologies. But analysts said a deal would not greatly benefit either vendor and could be a cause of concern for their customers.

Both companies have acknowledged that Paris-based Alcatel has expressed interest in purchasing Lucent's optical business for approximately $5 billion, but neither has publicly commented on the buyout rumors.

The deal could marry two companies with complementary sales territories. Murray Hill, N.J.-based Lucent, arguably the market leader in North American carrier sales, is weak in European sales. By …