Alcatel-Lucent is looking to unload its enterprise business and is meeting with possible buyers this week, according to Reuters. The telecom gear manufacturer reportedly is hoping to boost its profits by focusing more intently on its major carrier customers. 

Private equity firms are among those potentially interested in the $1 billion enterprise unit, Reuters reported, citing anonymous sources. Siemens Enterprise Communications, which is partly owned by a private equity firm and partly owned by Siemens, is said to be the most likely contender at this point.

The businesses up for sale includes IP telephony, Genesys contact center software, and Ethernet switching. The Genesys software accounts for most of Alcatel-Lucent's enterprise business, and the other two are seen as difficult to unload separately.

"The legacy voice business is very European focused, it is all unionized labor, it is all European geography, it is very expensive to fix," said a Reuters' anonymous source.

For more:
- see this Reuters' article

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