Finland's Nokia said on Monday it has gained control of French rival Alcatel-Lucent following its 15.6-billion-euro all-share offer and the two telecom equipment makers would combine on Jan. 14.<br />The French stock market authority said interim results showed Nokia would hold around 79 percent of Alcatel shares.<br />"We will move quickly to combine the two companies and execute our integration plans," Nokia Chief Executive Rajeev Suri said in a statement.<br />The Alcatel acquisition will vault Nokia into a stronger position to compete with Sweden's Ericsson and China's Huawei in a market for telecom network gear where little growth and tough competition are pressuring prices.
