Nokia Siemens Networks Finally Completes Acquisition of Motorola Solutions for $975 Million

Announced last year in July, the acquisition of Motorola Solutions by Nokia Siemens Networks had to be a simple business, but the deal was delayed for almost a year due to a Motorola's Chinese partner that was afraid for its business secrets being transferred to Nokia for free.

Although Nokia announced its intentions to buy Motorola's wireless-network business, the U.S.-based company separated completely the two businesses only in January 2011, which resulted in two different companies, Motorola Solutions and Motorola Mobility.

Nokia Siemens Networks and Motorola Solutions have just announced that the Espoo-based company has completed the acquisition of Motorola's assets for USD 975 million in cash.

Furthermore, it seems that starting April 30, 2011, the responsibility for supporting customers of Motorola Solutions' GSM, CDMA, WCDMA, WiMAX and LTE products and services was transferred to the Finnish giant.

“The people, customers and technology we've acquired greatly complement our existing business by taking us into new markets and broadening our market share,” said Rajeev Suri, chief executive officer, Nokia Siemens Networks.

“Our combined knowledge and experience will provide our newly expanded customer base with the means to grow by providing greater value to their subscribers.”

In addition, approximately 6900 employees will transfer to Nokia Siemens Networks, while the rest will remain and work within the Motorola Solutions division. As part of the deal, the company will also take the responsibility for supporting 50 operators across 52 countries.

The main reason behind the acquisition is the Espoo-based company's urge to strengthen its position in key regions, particularly North America and Japan, as well as with some of the world's major service providers.

With the new acquisition, Nokia Siemens Networks becomes the third largest wireless infrastructure vendor in the United States and the leading non-Japanese wireless vendor in Japan.

In addition, the acquisition reinforces Nokia Siemens Networks' position as the world's second largest wireless infrastructure and services provider.

As a side note, while Nokia, world's leading handset manufacturer has already announced the closing of a large number of its R&D centers, Nokia Siemens Networks stated that it would acquire a number of research and development facilities including sites in the United States, China, Russia, India and the UK.