Northern Telecom to Buy STC Electronics Firm : Telecommunications: The $2.6-billion deal will make the Canadian acquirer No. 3 in the phone field.

Northern Telecom Ltd., Canada’s leading telecommunications company, Thursday launched a 1.3-billion-pound ($2.6-billion) takeover bid for British electronics company STC.

The offer, which has already been accepted by STC, will propel Northern Telecom into third place among world telecommunications companies behind American Telephone & Telegraph Co. and France’s Alcatel NV.

Northern Telecom is currently ranked No. 5 in the world. STC is a major equipment supplier to British Telecom PLC, Britain’s dominant telephone company.

The offer values STC at 1.9 billion pounds ($3.8 billion), including Northern Telecom’s current 27.1% stake in the company.

It said it will borrow the money it needs for the takeover from banks.

Northern Telecom said the acquisition will broaden its research and marketing base in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.

“STC’s primary role is to give Northern Telecom a strong position in the U.K.,” said John Ross, a Northern Telecom vice president.

Northern Telecom, which started by making telephones, is now 53.1% owned by BCE Inc., a holding corporation whose subsidiaries include Bell Canada.

It operates factories in Canada, the United States, Ireland, France, Malaysia, Turkey and Australia, making digital telephone switching systems.

Analysts said STC’s fiber-optics business fits well with Northern Telecom’s latest marketing thrust.

The Canadian company recently unveiled a family of switching and transmission products using the high-capacity, high-quality signal carriers.

Northern Telecom’s shares fell $1.35 to $24.50 in New York Stock Exchange trading, but analysts believe the deal will be good for the company in the long term.

“I think it’s neutral in terms of earnings,” said Michel Guite, an analyst at Saloman Bros. “It isn’t a runaway obvious strategic opportunity in the way other global alliances have been, but on balance it is a favorable step for them in the U.K. market and in time will become part of Northern’s world strategy.”

Northern Telecom’s net income was $354.1 million in 1989 on revenue of about $6.1 billion.

In the third quarter of 1990, the company reported record earnings and orders, up 23% over the third quarter of 1989. Revenue for the first nine months was $4.89 billion, up from $4.32 billion in the first nine months of 1989.

At the same time the company said it expected earnings to continue to grow in 1990.

STC has been selling assets since its profit began falling five years ago.

STC’s latest divestiture, the controversial sale of 80% of its ICL computer unit to Fujitsu Ltd. of Japan, agreed on four months ago, paved the way for sale of the entire company, analysts said.