Alcatel-Lucent to acquire Motive

June 18, 2008 - Alcatel-Lucent has entered a definitive agreement to acquire Motive, a US provider of service management software for broadband and mobile data services, through a cash offer of US$67.8mn.

The transaction is expected to close by early in the fourth quarter of this year.  The two companies have worked together for the past three years, jointly develop and selling remote management software solutions for automating the deployment, configuration and support of residential gateways.  The two companies currently have over 40 joint customers, including AT&T, Verizon, BT, Vodafone Portugal and Swisscom.

“Motive has always been an innovator in helping service providers shorten service activation time and increasing customer satisfaction with broadband services by developing solutions allowing better visibility into home networks,” said Luis Martinez Amago, President of Alcatel-Lucent’s fixed access activities.  “Integrating Motive’s broadband and mobile service management expertise with our portfolio of wireline and wireless access technologies will allow customers to offer a new generation of complex services, blurring the boundaries between fixed and mobile networks, and increasing customer retention but without adding operational complexity.”

Motive has 300 employees worldwide with R&D operations in Austin, Texas and Bangalore, India, and the company will become part of Alcatel-Lucent’s Fixed Access Division, within the Carrier Business Group.  The transaction has been structured as a two-step acquisition comprised of a cash tender offer for all outstanding shares of Motive common stock followed by a merger of Motive with and into a subsidiary of Alcatel-Lucent.