Nokia has taken another step closer to completing its acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent after France’s Ministry of Economy (MINEFI) approved the tie-up.
It comes just days after China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) gave its blessing to the €15.6 billion deal.
"Today’s approval by France moves Nokia an important step closer to joining with Alcatel-Lucent and creating a new leader in next generation technology and services for an IP connected world," said Rajeev Suri, CEO of Nokia in a statement on Wednesday.
He thanked French economy minister Emmanuel Macron and his team for their "constructive engagement" throughout the process.
Nokia will now proceed with the exchange offer part of the transaction, which will present Alcatel-Lucent shareholders with the opportunity to obtain newly-issued Nokia ordinary shares at a ratio of 0.55 Nokia shares to one Alcatel-Lucent share.
The exchange offer deadline is expected to be in the first quarter of 2016; the deal also still remains subject to approval by Nokia shareholders.
"We firml y believe that this combination is a long-term value creation opportunity for both sets of investors and other stakeholders," Suri said.
Nokia expects to close the Alcatel-Lucent acquisition in the first half of 2016.
