No merger spelled lower levels for Lucent Technology, following an announcement late last week that it would not be merging with France-based Alcatel. Levels fell slightly to the 91 1/2 range. Dealers noted there continued to be strong supply. Lucent, based in Murray Hill, N.J., is one of the top manufacturers of telecom equipment and software. Calls to Lucent were referred to a spokesman, who did not return them.
Dealers say the announcement came as no surprise to the market, and some speculate it may have been for the better. "Lucent was not getting a great deal, then Alcatel came out with very bad numbers. They may have been trying to save themselves," one theorized.
Lucent has a $6.5 billion revolving credit that expires in 2002. Pricing ranges from 15/8 % basis points over LIBOR to LIBOR plus 2 1/2 %. J.P. Morgan, ABN-AMRO, Morgan Stanley,Citibank , Deutsche Bank and Société Générale are the mandated arrangers, according to Capital DATA Loanware.