Network company China Huaxin has bought the enterprise network division of Alcatel-Lucent for €202 million ($254m). The division will remain headquartered near Paris.

The Chinese firm gets Alcatel-Lucent’s enterprise network switches, unified communications (UC) and voice over IP (VoIP) equipment, but Alcatel-Lucent retains the larger telecoms business, and the Bell Labs research division it inherited from AT&T.

The two companies say the deal will provide much needed investment for the enterprise communications division, as well as boosting international business, with Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise planning to expand into new vertical markets, high-growth countries - and, of course, the cloud.

According to its release, the company now plans to shift from delivering technology only to an “outcome-based delivery model,” which could mean selling network as a service, or pay-as-you-go LANs.

“As a ‘new’ company our core mission is to help companies transform the way people communicate, harnessing capabilities offered by ever smarter devices and new use models,” said Michel Emelianoff, Chief Executive Officer, Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise. “With such a dedicated investor, we now have the ability to execute on our ambition to become an essential player in the enterprise communications market and still be a reference for innovation and user experience.”

Yuan Xin, President, China Huaxi said: “Our long-term investment approach will help Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise deliver on its ambition while enabling us to strengthen our strategic position in the enterprise communications arena.”