Eastside Business -- Lucent Paying $145 Million For Software Maker Mosaix

Mosaix, a Redmond software company that helps businesses link front and back offices with information about customer transactions, is being acquired by Lucent Technologies in a $145 million deal.

Lucent, a software and communications company based in Murray Hill, N.J., said today that each share of Mosaix will be converted into 0.1927 shares of Lucent. That translates into $10.77 a share, based on Lucent's Thursday closing price of $55.875, and is a 29 percent premium to Mosaix's closing stock price Thursday of $8.375. The acquisition news pushed Mosaix stock up $2.375 to $10.75 at today's close.

The merger will aid Mosaix, said Herbert Tinger, a stock analyst with First Albany in Albany, N.Y. "Mosaix had the right approach and just wasn't successful in getting its products to the marketplace. I think this will give it the opportunity it has been looking for."

Tinger said the 29 percent stock premium was somewhat lower than he had hoped for, but added that Lucent stock should do well for Mosaix shareholders.

Mosaix, founded in 1983, has about 550 employees, including 300 in Redmond. It had 1998 sales of $110.07 million.

Lucent said few staff changes are anticipated, especially because it plans to expand Mosaix's products.

Nicholas Tiliacos, Mosaix's president and chief executive officer, said Lucent is one of the few companies in the world that can leverage Mosaix's entire product line into the market.

"This is a great day for our company," said Tiliacos, who will work with Lucent during the transition. His later role has not been determined, a Lucent spokesman said.

The merger is expected to be completed in the quarter ending June 30.

Lucent, founded in 1996, is the world's largest telecommunications-equipment maker. It has 141,600 employees and is ranked 33 on the Fortune 500, with $30.147 billion in sales in 1998.

Lucent is eager to expand its customer-services products to support media call centers. Mosaix's ViewStar software automates and streamlines information about customer requests and transactions, allowing a service representative to respond quickly and stimulate more business by promoting special products based on buying patterns.

"We've seen nothing that comes close to Mosaix's exceptional ability to integrate the front-office call center with customer and business information across the enterprise," said Janice Anderson, Lucent customer-care solutions vice president.

Polly Lane's phone message number is 206-464-2149. Her e-mail address is: plane@seattletimes.com