Merger of Siemens arm with Nokia gets EU nod
EU antitrust regulators cleared the planned merger of Finnish telecommunications equipment maker Nokia and the network business of German conglomerate Siemens. After a market investigation, the European Commission concluded that the deal “would not significantly impede effective competition” in Europe, it said in a statement.
Although the new company would be a market leader, Ericsson of Sweden and French-US group Alcatel-Lucent would ensure tough competition and network operators would have alternative suppliers. Siemens and Nokia said in June they would merge their telecoms equipment and network activities to create the sector’s third-biggest company and close the gap on market leader Ericsson.
Under the terms of the deal, Nokia and Siemens are to set up a 50-50 JV to be called Nokia Siemens Networks, combining Nokia’s networks business division and Siemens’ carrier-related operations for fixed and mobile networks. Nokia Siemens Networks will have annual sales of close to e16bn ($20.5bn) and a workforce of 60,000.
