Alcatel Lucent has confirmed it is investigating the best way forward for its enterprise biz, which could include offloading it to a third party.

Feverish industry talk about the future of the unit – which punts enterprise switching, IP telephony and contact centre software – has been rife since April, when Siemens Enterprise Comms was reported as a likely buyer.

The French-American firm has now confirmed it is "exploring strategic options to enhance the future opportunities" for the enterprise unit, which has annual revenues of around €1bn.

"All options are being explored including discussions with third parties," the vendor revealed in a statement.

It added that meetings with employee representatives were being held in line with local legal requirements and the ongoing review.

"No decision has been made on the options being explored and there is no certainty that this review will result in any change to the Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise business," it added.

This basically means that if the firm snares a buyer offering the right amount of cash, the Siemens bid was understood to be $1.3bn, a deal should get the green light – part of CEO Ben Verwaayen's business improvement plan. ®