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Siemens shops NSN stake to private equity firms - report
2013-06-17 08:53:00| Telecompaper Headlines
(Telecompaper) Siemens is sounding out private-equity firms about buying its 50 percent stake in Nokia Siemens Networks, people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal. The German conglomerate has approached a number of buyout funds, including TPG, Blackstone and KKR, to gauge their interest in buying the stake. Another possibility, less likely, is a sale of Siemen's stake in the venture, the report said. Analysts say the entire NSN business, if it were public, could be worth more than EUR 7 billion including debt. Since April each partner in the joint venture is free to explore options for its stake without the risk of a veto from the other party. It was unclear how Nokia would view a possible sale of all or part of NSN to private-equity investors, but according to the WSJ, it is considering buying out Siemens' stake. Nokia has held discussions with Solidium, the Finnish sovereign-wealth fund, which could help it pay for such a deal, people familiar with the matter said.
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Category:Telecommunications