Alcatel chief says no M&A on the agenda-newspaper

PARIS, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Merger and acquisition projects are not on the agenda of the Franco-American telecom equipment supplier, the chief executive of Alcatel-Lucent (ALUA.PA) said in a newspaper interview.

Ben Verwaayen would not comment recent speculation that Alcatel-Lucent could form an alliance with China's Huawei [HWT.UL], one of the world's top makers of networking equipment.

"There is no merger or acquisition, no search for external help on the agenda. We are currently working on establishing a normal operational climate," he told La Tribune.

Earlier this month Huawei denied a report it was in talks to form an alliance with Alcatel-Lucent.

French magazine Challenges had said the two companies had begun preliminary tie-up talks, envisioning making a certain number of products together, but had ruled out a merger.

In August the Chinese company denied plans to buy a stake in Alcatel-Lucent, two days after the latter's stock surged 16 percent in a single session partly on market talk it could be bought by a Chinese rival. [ID:nSP505057]

(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon, editing by Marcel Michelson)