Two years ago, the General Services Administration issued a thousand-page RFP(Request for Proposal) for Networx, the contracts to provide communications services and technology to the government. The project was divided into two parts, Networx Universal and Networx Enterprise. Together, the two could be worth as much as $20 billion.

The winners of the bid for Networx Universal, to provide global telecommunications, are due to be announced this month, a year later than originally planned. The GSA delayed the decision due to the complexity of the 5,000-page bids.

Four teams of companies are in the running for the contract, although the government could, and many think probably will, parse the work so that all get a taste. The teams and their lineups:

When Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE:ALU) merged last year, creating the world's biggest maker of telecommunications equipment, it said it would slash 9,000 jobs. Now, the company said the number of workers who will lose their job would be 12,500, or 16% or its workforce.

Not surprising, French unions have called for a strike on Feb. 15 to protest the job cuts. Now this could get ugly as Alcatel-Lucent also (surprisingly) announced today that the 2006 dividend will be 16 cents, giving shareholders a dividend yield of 1.1%.

The company also reported -- what Alcatel-Lucent CEO Russo called -- disappointing results, posting a net loss of €618 million ($802.84 million) for the three months ending Dec. 31, compared to a profit of €381 million the previous year. The company expects revenue for 2007 to rise by about 5%.

After rising 4.43% in yesterday's session, ALU shares continued to rise in Paris, gaining 2.8% on the cost cuts and dividend announcement. However, here ALU shares are down 2% in pre-market trading.

Stock futures are positive in early morning trade, indicating to a similar start for stocks amidst announcement of job cuts and upgrades for the Big Three.

Oil actually rose above $60 a barrel today for the first time since early January. Geopolitical concerns, especially, tensions between Iran and the U.S. as well as cold temperatures boosted oil to above $60 before easing back a bit.

Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE:ALU) announced fourth-quarter earnings this morning, posting a €618 million ($802.84 million) loss and a planned job cut of 12,500 workers. While ALU shares were up in Paris following the announcement, they trade down about 1% in pre-market.

DaimlerChrysler AG (NYSE:DCX) announced today it has sold 7.5% of its shares in Airbus parent company EADS to a private investment group for approximately €1.5 billion ($1.95 billion) in cash. Meanwhile, the Detroit News also reported that the company will cut 7%, or 1,000 white-collar salaried jobs, primarily in Michigan.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Notable initiations today include Ericsson (ERIC) and Research in Motion (RIMM).

• JP Morgan started Ericsson Telephone Company (NASDAQ:ERIC) with an Overweight rating and $49.50 target; they believe Ericsson's EPS acceleration should be driven by share gains and margin expansion.
• CIBC World Markets initiated Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ:RIMM) with a Sector Performer based on valuation, recommending investors wait for a better entry-point.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE:ALU) was initiated with a Buy rating and $15 target at Bank of America and feel the new company should benefit from favorable trends due to the IP/MPLS network builds, IPTV strength and strong emerging wireless subs group.
• ThinkEquity initiated Fuel Tech Inc. (NASDAQ:FTEK) with a Buy rating and $29 target , expecting them to benefit from numerous legislations that mandate the adoption of clean coal technologies by power and industrial plants.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

To deal with a soft market – and tough competitors – Alcatel SA has joined forces with Lucent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:LU). The deal makes a lot of sense – as there should be lots of cost synergies. But, such mega deals can be complex – especially when integrating companies that are based in different countries. As for Alcatel, it is based in France. And, the new leader of the company will be Lucent's CEO, Patricia Russo.

Interestingly enough, she will not learn French. Of course, given the competitive environment, learning French will probably not help much.

However, in mega M&A deals, it is important to be sensitive to cultural issues. After all, look at the challenges when AOL merged with Time-Warner. Even though the companies were both based in the US, there were still major cultural clashes.

Also, keep in mind that the combined Alcatel-Lucent will be headquartered in Paris. So, why not learn French? If she did, it actually could be a strong gesture on her part to the employee base -- and a good way to start off the deal.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and operates InvestorOffering.com.