Fergie's Tech Blog

Nokia And Siemens Plan $30 Billion Merger Deal

Andrew Ross Sorkin writes in The New York Times:

Nokia of Finland and Siemens of Germany are expected to announce today that they will merge their telecommunication network equipment businesses in a deal valued at more than $30 billion, people involved in the transaction said last night.

The merger is likely to set off a new global wave of consolidation and a round of price wars as the telecommunication industry continues to remake itself after last decade's boom-and-bust cycle.

The cross-border deal, which was approved by the boards of both companies, would create the world's third-largest network equipment concern behind Ericsson and a combined Lucent and Alcatel, which announced plans to merge three months ago. The transaction is also likely to put considerable pressure on Motorola, which will fall to the No. 4 position among network equipment makers in the world, just as its business is turning around as a result of its hot-selling Razr cellphones.

posted by Fergie @ 6/19/2006 07:27:00 AM