Finnish telecommunications solutions provider Nokia has received approval from the European Commission for its $2.3 billion acquisition of Infinera, a U.S. manufacturer of open optical networking equipment. Once the deal is finalized, the combined entity will produce optical transport equipment and other related hardware.
Nokia, which announced the acquisition deal in June 2024, believes the transaction has strategic merit and shareholder value.
“We believe now is the right time to take a compelling inorganic step to further expand Nokia’s scale in optical networks,” Pekka Lundmark, president and CEO of Nokia, said at the time. “The combined businesses have a strong strategic fit given their highly complementary customer, geographic and technology profiles.”
The regulatory approval follows the commission’s investigation into the acquisition’s impact on competition in the European Economic Area. The findings showed that the merged company’s market shares would have a moderate impact on the sector, as competitors can effectively compete with Nokia-Infinera.
Recently, Nokia divested its Alcatel Submarine Networks business to concentrate its resources on core markets and growth opportunities within its Network Infrastructure portfolio.
The latest developments align with Nokia’s Technology Vision 2030 plan, which envisions a future driven by artificial intelligence, cloud and advanced connectivity, with a transformative network architecture called Beyondn designed to harness these forces.