Nokia has confirmed it is in the late stages of talks with Alcatel-Lucent about an acquisition. In a joint statement, the companies said they were in "advanced discussions with respect to a potential full combination." Nokia could boost its telecommunications division with the acquisition.

Alcatel-Lucent is not in the phone business anymore and that means Nokia isn't trying to get back into that market. Instead, the company would double-down on telecommunications. This deal would help Nokia add scale to its infrastructure since it's currently behind rivals Ericsson and Huawei.

These talks, if fruitful, will result in a public exchange offer by Nokia for Alcatel-Lucent.