Nokia has received the green signal from the French Ministry of Economy (MINEFI) for the nearly $17 billion deal to purchase rival Alcatel-Lucent.
This follows several promises made by Nokia to the French government.
The approval will enable Nokia to go ahead with the filing of its public exchange offer for Alcatel-Lucent.
“Today’s approval by France moves Nokia an important step closer to joining with Alcatel-Lucent and creating a new leader in next generation technology and services for an IP connected world,” said Rajeev Suri, president and CEO of Nokia.
The Exchange Offer will comprise of a French public exchange offer and a U.S. public exchange offer. Once the Exchange Offer period opens, the proposed transaction will remain subject to approval by Nokia shareholders and the successful closing of the Exchange Offer. The initial Exchange Offer settlement date is expected to be in the first quarter of 2016.
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