Nokia, Siemens in $31.5 billion phone equipment deal (MarketWatch)

[eppur_se_muova]

By MarketWatch
Last Update: 8:30 PM ET Jun 18, 2006

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Nokia Corp. and Siemens AG are expected to announce Monday that they are combining their phone equipment units in a deal valued at $31.5 billion, according to a media report Sunday.

The combined entity, which would not be traded publicly, would be based in Nokia's (NOK : 19.97, -0.43, -2.1% ) home country of Finland, The Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter. See Wall Street Journal story (subscription required).

Siemens (SI : 79.80, -0.84, -1.0% ) would hold a minority of board seats, although the company, yet to be named, would be owned on a 50-50 basis, The Journal said.

Nokia, the world's dominant manufacturer of cell-phone hand sets, previously has refrained from the mergers and consolidations sweeping the industry.

By combining their equipment businesses, Siemens and Nokia hope to mount a more robust defense against the Asian threat to their global market share, The Journal said.
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