The Split of NSN?

The Telecom infrastructure market has gone through a wrenching transformation in the last decade and the most recent downturn has accelerated the change. According to a recent Reuters report, Nokia Corp. (NOK) and Siemens AG (SI) are considering an IPO as a way to exit from their 50-50 stakes in Nokia Siemens Networks. Despite years trying to make their respective investments in telecom infrastructure payoff, the NSN joint venture failed to make a profit. The two companies have been searching for a new partner in the private equity sector but have so far been unable to find a suitor. The joint venture began in 2007 only to have a global economic recession take hold one year later. Tough competition from Chinese vendors Huawei, ZTE and market leader Ericsson eroded NSN's market share aided also by uncertainty in product roadmaps from the combined venture.

Nonetheless, NSN has managed an impressive pair of wins in North America, including its $1.2 billion purchase of Motorola Inc.'s network business and a $7 billion deal to build Harbinger Capital Partners' LTE network over an eight-year span.