Report: Alcatel-Lucent Reaches $1.5B Deal to Sell Unit

French-American communications equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE:ALU) has reportedly inked a deal to sell its corporate call center services unit to a private equity firm for $1.5 billion.

The report, from the Financial Times, comes as a relief to shareholders who heard rumors last week that the transaction had collapsed last month during the financial market turbulence due to finance issues.

Shares of Alcatel-Lucent jumped 3.5% to $2.97 Thursday morning, eating into their four-week slide of almost 11%.

According to the FT, Paris-based Alcatel-Lucent has agreed to sell the business, Genesys, to European private-equity firm Permira, which is headquartered in London.

Details of the transaction are expected to be unveiled over the coming week, the paper reported.

Alcatel-Lucent has struggled to return to profitability since the company was formed five years ago with the marriage of U.S.-based Lucent and French Alcatel. Genesys had been acquired by Alcatel in 2000.