Alcatel-Lucent's deal from Hell

When Alcatel and Lucent agreed to merge in April 2006, there were the typical phrases in the press release: "new growth opportunities," "cost synergies," "global convergence," "increased scale," "global capabilities" and so on. Oh, and yes, it would "create enhanced value for shareholders."

Yet, there was something that was curious. The CEO of the new entity, Patricia Russo, said she would not learn French, even though Alcatel was based in France. Might this be a sign that there would be some cultural issues?

Alas, the fact remains that the benefits of the deal haven't materialized as Alcatel-Lucent's (NYSE: ALU) stock price has gone from $14.50 to $7.50.

Well, this week, Alcatel-Lucent had its annual meeting. No doubt, it wasn't fun as shareholders provided an earful. After all, the company had to write down $4.55 billion in asset value because of the merger (there were also thousands of layoffs).

Interestingly enough, shareholders passed a resolution that allows Alcatel-Lucent's board to rid its chairman/CEO with a majority vote instead of a two-thirds of a vote.

Unfortunately, I don't see this amounting to much. Keep in mind that -- with consolidation of wireless carriers -- its tough for equipment providers to get any leverage. Plus, the competition is still intense.

By the way, Russo apparently is learning to speak French now. And she even spoke some words at the meeting. However, she will need to learn a more important language: profits.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.