When people think of Nokia they think of a company that makes mobile phones, but they forget about Nokia Siemens Networks, the division of Nokia that is responsible for building the equipment that powers the wireless networks that mobile phones need to connect to so they can actually be useful. Nokia Siemens Networks has some of the best technology in the industry, and have become influential in the discussion around technical issues such as excessive signaling and how to improve the efficiency of GSM networks, but at the end of the day they have a problem making money. Ericsson eats their lunch and enjoys their spot at the top of the infrastructure supplier game thanks to an extensive portfolio of services, and Huawei enjoys cheap Chinese labor, which lets them offer wireless networks at a discount compared to anyone else in the industry.
The joint venture between Nokia and Siemens is set to expire in 2013 and that has a lot of people wondering where the firm is heading. Private-equity firms Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and TPG were thinking of scooping up NSN, but then they backed out of the deal at the last minute. Nokia remains confident however that they’ll find someone and on Friday told The Wall Street Journal that they are “in constructive talks with several bidders” for the Nokia Siemens Networks Division. If you couple the 2013 expiration date with some of the rumors that have been floating around about Nokia selling their handset division, then you’ve got the makings of a pretty wild conspiracy theory.
Put a new CEO in, announce plans to abandon all hope and go with an unproven software platform, drive the stock price down to levels not seen in over a decade, initiate hostile takeover.
But of course that’s all nonsense.