Nokia Networks and Alcatel Lucent have begun talks on a possible merger. The firms are considering a merger or a close cooperation. The talks began in early fall. Alcatel shares rose 8.7% following the news of a possible deal, while Nokia's went up 3.4%. In April, Nokia sold its loss producing handset business to Microsoft for $7 billion. Mikael Rautanen, an analyst at Inderes Equity Research said, "The pressure for the market to consolidate is obvious." He also warned that, "One should remember that mergers in this sector have a poor success history, they are very risky."