NEW YORK, May 30 -- Merger talks between Alcatel SA and Lucent Technologies Inc. were called off after negotiations failed to yield an agreement. In a statement, both companies announced that the negotiations in Paris had failed, but did not disclose why they terminated their discussions. Reportedly, the negotiations stalled over how the combined companies would be managed. The deal would have marked one of the largest takeovers of a US technology group by a European company.