Speculation mounts over NSN future

The potential sale of a stake in Nokia Siemens Networks by its joint owners is reported to be progressing, with a possible majority stake sale to private equity groups.

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the parent companies are not actively seeking a buyer, but plans for a sale of a stake in the company have existed almost since the joint-venture was formed.

Nokia Siemens Networks has continuously lost money since its founding, weighing down both its parents. A spokesman said that both Nokia and Siemens are committed to the joint venture until 2013 – which is when the current agreement between the two companies expires.

Failure to sell a stake in the company before 2013 would put the future of the group in doubt when the current agreement expires as it is believed there would be temptation to split the company again.

Last July, it was reported that Silver Lake Partners, TPG, Blackstone, Bain Capital and KKR were in talks about taking a one-third stake in the company, which had at the time just agreed to the US$1.2 billion deal to acquire Motorola’s networking assets.