Nokia announced Monday it would buy out Siemens' share of Nokia Siemens Networks for $2.2 billion, a move that jacked Nokia's stock price up more than 7%.
The buyout of Siemens' 50% stake in NSN dissolves the joint venture, which was launched in 2007 as a global provider of wireless infrastructure equipment. Siemens is eager to exit the wireless business to focus on energy equipment, healthcare and infrastructure projects, according to a press release from the two companies.
NSN will continue to be based in Espoo, Finland, Nokia's home city, but will have a strong presence in Germany, where Siemens is based.
Investors apparently saw the move as a positive one for Nokia, which has struggled in the consumer mobile phone business. In contrast, NSN is seen as a relative oasis of stable B2B revenues and profits.
That wasn't always the case. In 2011, the two companies announced a plan to cut NSN's workforce by 23% as it competed with Huawei Technologies and Ericsson. As a result of the layoffs, cost-cutting and the increasing popularity of Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks, NSN became profitable in the second quarter of 2012.
Image via Martti Kainulainen
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