Buyout Firm Platinum to Acquire Alcatel Unit

Platinum Equity, a Los Angeles buyout firm, agreed to buy French phone giant Alcatel’s telecommunications services unit. Terms weren’t disclosed.

The acquisition is Platinum’s largest in Europe. The Alcatel division, which advises and equips companies looking to set up telephone networks, has 6,500 employees and 400,000 customers in Europe, and had revenue of $1.3 billion last year.

Platinum, headed by billionaire Tom Gores, already owns NextiraOne, a company that provides similar services in the U.S. After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, NextiraOne worked to restore communications to clients in lower Manhattan.

Together, NextiraOne and Alcatel’s unit will have revenue of more than $2.5 billion this year, the companies said.

Alcatel’s American depositary receipts rose 47 cents to $16.79 on the NYSE.