Alcatel-Lucent, the French telecom equipment company, is to buy NetDevices, a privately held producer of device gateways for large businesses. Financial terms are undisclosed.

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of Alcatel-Lucent's fiscal 2007 (subject the usual standard closing conditions) When the dust settles, NetDevices employees and products will be integrated into Alcatel-Lucent's Enterprise Business Group.

NetDevices' flagship product is the SG-8 Unified Services Gateway, which blends security, routing and converged IP communications in one box. It occupies the same market as Cisco's Integrated Service Routers and Juniper's Secure Services Gateway (USG vs. ISR vs. SSG for you acronym lovers.)

Alcatel acquired its New Jersey-based rival Lucent Technologies for about $11.6bn last November. The company last week posted a loss of $10.8m for the first quarter, tciting effects from the merger for the red ink. ®

Related stories

• Alcatel-Lucent reports write-off headache (11 February 2008)
• Alcatel-Lucent confirms 400 job cuts in France (1 February 2008)
• Alcatel-Lucent cuts off 4,000 workers (31 October 2007)
• Spare some change - for the sub-£10 mobile (24 August 2007)
• Networks First buys ANS (6 June 2007)
• Alcatel-Lucent wants more Microsoft money (15 May 2007)
• Alcatel-Lucent results impress investors (11 May 2007)
• Alcatel-Lucent merger results disappoint (23 January 2007)
• Analysis Alcatel and Microsoft say 'business as usual' despite patent spat (4 December 2006)
• Alcatel slaps Microsoft with patent infringement claim (22 November 2006)
• Lucent to cull 9,000 staff (11 July 2006)
• Next generation branch networking (8 March 2006)