Now that we’re nearing the end of 4Q14, it is time for the annual rite of winter, i.e. , the news media picks up the Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner meme and rolls out the latest gossip of who is dating whom. This time Bloomberg (Alcatel-Lucent Advances on Report of Merger Talks With Nokia) revisits the classic surprise courtship melodrama of Nokia Networks and Alcatel-Lucent. With cash in hand, and less baggage in tow, we may find that previous attitudes that prevented them from getting together no longer prevail.
We looked at this last year and decided this couple makes a good pair (Nokia: Well Done with MSFT, Now Strike Again While the Iron Is Hot!, NOK & ALU? Never Say Never) and an economic perspective, i.e. The Rule of Three and Four, indicates the pressure to consolidate as the mobile broadband industry settles into maturity.
Our comment on last year’s rumor of nuptials was Never Say Never, and keeping with the pun, we might now say Now or Never. Perhaps this time we will hear glad tidings leading to a June Wedding.
