European vendor Nokia Siemens Networks has announced plans to sell its optical networks assets to US-based Marlin Equity Partners to focus more on mobile broadband.
NSN hired Credit Suisse and Germany’s Goetzpartners Corporate Finance to advise it on…
European vendor Nokia Siemens Networks has announced plans to sell its optical networks assets to US-based Marlin Equity Partners to focus more on mobile broadband.
NSN hired Credit Suisse and Germany’s Goetzpartners Corporate Finance to advise it on the deal, according to a spokesman.
Financial details were not disclosed, although the transaction would transfer up to 1,900 employees to the Californian private equity firm, which has more than US$1bn of capital under management.
The companies expect to close the deal following regulatory approval in Q1 2013, when Marlin will form a new Munich-headquartered company with the assets.
Marin intends to use the deal as a platform to act as a consolidator in the fragmented optical networking sector.
Pat DiPietro, Marlin’s operating partner for telecoms, said the group was planning “to make necessary investments” to bolster its optical network solutions capability.
NSN, a joint venture between Finland’s Nokia and Germany’s Siemens, has been selling non-core assets over the past year as part of a restructuring that will save it a reported €1bn by the end of 2013.
Since November 2011, the group has sold assets including its fixed line broadband access business, its microwave transport unit, and its WiMAX platform.
As part of the increasing focus on mobile broadband services such as LTE, the company has also said it is looking to sell its business support systems unit. Reports last September suggested Swedish vendor Ericsson was in pole position to acquire these assets.
As well as Ericsson, NSN’s major competitors include China’s Huawei and France’s Alcatel Lucent.
