The case describes the boardroom discussion at the time of the IT bubble in the early 2000s, when all major telecoms (British Telecom, Deutsche Telecom and France Telecom) had problems. BT is the first to react and decides on a major asset sale - including its mobile division - to restore the balance sheet (in view of much depreciated assets after the bubble burst).

The case describes the boardroom discussion at the time of the IT bubble in the early 2000s, when all major telecoms (British Telecom, Deutsche Telecom and France Telecom) had problems. BT is the first to react and decides on a major asset sale - including its mobile division - to restore the balance sheet (in view of much depreciated assets after the bubble burst).

This case presents the discussions around the 2006 decision of Alcatel and Lucent to merge, with the aim of becoming a major player in the telecom industry, from the perspective of the Alcatel board. The case focuses on the board and leadership issues. Case B, provided as an appendix, briefly describes the aftermath.