Days after the announcement of the break-up of joint venture ST-Ericsson, Siemens has revealed that it will likely exit Nokia Siemens Networks this year.
Siemens CFO Joe Kaeser has revealed that the company has no ambition to remain part of the telecom equipment joint venture with Nokia, Dow Jones Newswiresreported.
He said at an investor event that he believes that “2013 is the time for Siemens to help NSN to move into a better place.”
A shareholder pact prohibiting the parents from disposing of their stakes in the joint venture expires in April.
Nokia Siemens has been a financial drain on its parent companies' bottom lines since its founding in 2007, but Kaeser said the company's recent turnaround efforts – including job cuts and the divestiture of its BSS unit and its optical business – had enabled the company to start operating profitably.
Siemens' comments come days after Ericsson and ST-Microelectronics confirmed plans to start splitting up the more valuable assets of their ST-Ericsson mobile chip joint venture, and progressively dissolving the rest of the business.
Ericsson and ST-Microelectronics had reportedly been unable to find a buyer for the joint venture during a three-month search.