Nokia, Siemens Tell Clients They Support NSN Venture

The heads of Siemens AG and Nokia have sent what Reuters called a “rare joint letter” to clients of their ailing telecom gear-maker joint venture, Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN), stating their support for the company.

"We continue to support investment in the future of the company, both in terms of expenditure and potential acquisitions and partnerships," Siemens CFO Joe Kaeser and Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said in a letter dated Dec. 9, Reuters reported.

The letter comes as Siemens has hinted at its willingness to sell some of NSN assets, an unidentified analyst told Reuters.

NSN is having a hard time maintaining its footing in an ever-more-competitive sector. China-based vendors such as Huawei are undercutting prices and scoring more deals than many of their rivals, including NSN. To that point, Nokia took a $1.34 billion charge for its NSN stake in the third quarter. And Siemens last year reclassified its equity investments (NSN is its largest) from “strategic” to “financial,” a move analysts said indicated the German corporation’s interest in exiting NSN over time, Reuters said.