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Lucent to sell consulting unit
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November 6, 2001: 11:44 a.m. ET
Embattled telecom equipment provider expects sale by year's end.
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NEW YORK (CNNmoney) - Lucent Technologies Inc. revealed Tuesday that it plans to sell its network consulting unit by the end of the year.
Murray Hill, N.J.-based Lucent (LU: up $0.05 to $7.22, Research, Estimates) intends to find a buyer or other strategic alternative for its enterprise professional services unit which is part of its worldwide services business. The embattled telecom equipment provider bought the company, which offers consulting services to Fortune 100 companies, in October 1999.
"As we focus Lucent on serving the largest service providers in the world, we have had to make decisions about which parts of our business do - and don't - fit that alignment," said Bill O'Shea, executive vice president of Lucent's corporate strategy and marketing. "We firmly believe this business and its employees will succeed and grow as part of a company whose main focus is corporate communication networks."
The unit employs about 1,400 persons while Lucent's worldwide services has a 24,000 staff. A sale of the company would value it at about $200 million, an industry source said.
Lucent has sold off various assets as it tries to reduce its debt load. Last summer, the company sold its fiber-optic unit to Furukawa Electric Co. of Japan for $2.75 billion.
Lucent said Tuesday it will retain its network engineering talent and teams that focus on the service provider market.
"This is a very small portion of our services business," Lucent spokesman Bill Price said.
Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown is advising Lucent on the sale. 
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