Meanwhile, analysts and communications attorneys suggested that an Alcatel-Lucent deal could set off U.S. national security concerns because a foreign company would be buying an American firm whose products and laboratories are at the heart of the nation's communications network. Its scientists developed dozens of devices that helped shape modern life, including the transistor, the laser and the remote control. It employs more than 30,000 engineers in 30 countries, and it does sensitive work for U.S. intelligence agencies. Analysts said these agencies might question the wisdom of allowing such operations to fall into the hands of a foreign company. The panel includes representatives of the FBI, the CIA, the National Security Council, the U.S. Treasury and the Department of State.
Recent history is stocked with examples of such concerns delaying and complicating deals.
They noted that the German government owned 58 percent of the company. But other factors argue for a far easier review of a possible Alcatel-Lucent combination. Many of the largest telecommunications equipment companies now selling their gear in the United States are foreign firms, from Sweden's Ericcson to Germany's Siemens. The majority of advanced switches built in to the U.S. telephone network are produced by Nortel Networks, a Canadian company. Ultimately, analysts and antitrust experts suggested that free trade imperatives would again trump other concerns for the simple reason that the United States so often champions the opening of markets.