A total E1bn has been injected into Finnish-German vendor Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) by its shareholders.
Finland’s Nokia and Germany’s Siemens, the owners of the 50:50 JV, each ploughed in E500m to “strengthen the company’s financial position…
A total E1bn has been injected into Finnish-German vendor Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) by its shareholders.
Finland’s Nokia and Germany’s Siemens, the owners of the 50:50 JV, each ploughed in E500m to “strengthen the company’s financial position and set the stage for strategic flexibility, productivity and innovation in areas such as mobile broadband and related services”, announced NSN today.
The investment comes after NSN called off its near-year long attempt to find a buyer for a majority stake in the business in mid-July. NSN’s owners had reportedly been looking to receive around US$2bn in return for a 51% stake.
A number of PE firms, including Blackstone, TPG, KKR, Gores Group and Platinum, had been rumoured to be interested, but were reportedly unhappy with the price and level of control they were being offered.
Nokia and Siemens also announced the immediate appointment of Jesper Ovesen, a former CFO of Danish mobile operator TDC, as executive chairman of NSN’s board.
In a joint statement, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop and Siemens CFO Joe Kaeser said: “With a strong track record in change management, Jesper is an excellent addition to the NSN team. As executive chairman, he will also be responsible for strategy oversight as Nokia Siemens Networks transitions towards a strong standalone entity.”
Ovesen replaces Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, who resigned as CEO of Nokia last year and until now served as non-executive chairman of NSN.
A spokesman for NSN was unable to comment on Kallasvuo’s future plans.
