Nokia denies report about mobile unit sales talks with Samsung

People walk next to the Nokia stand as they attend the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, in February. (Reuters-Yonhap)

Finnish telecom equipment maker Nokia on Friday denied a report that it is in talks with Samsung Electronics or any other potential bidders to sell its mobile network business.

“Nokia has nothing to announce in relation to the speculations published in an article today, and no related insider project exists,” the company said in a statement, referring to a Bloomberg report earlier in the day.

“Nokia is committed to the success of its mobile networks business, a highly strategic asset for both Nokia and its customers,” the company said. “The business has made significant progress this year both on right-sizing its cost-base while protecting its product roadmap and winning new deals with new customers and increasing share with existing customers.”

The rebuttal came as Bloomberg reported a day earlier that the Finnish firm has considered multiple options including a divestment, selling some or all of its mobile networks business which could be valued at as much as $10 billion, as well as combining the business with a rival.

“Nokia Oyj’s mobile networks assets are drawing preliminary interest from suitors including Samsung Electronics amid increasing pressure to find new growth in the troubled telecom equipment sector,” the report said.

Samsung expressed initial interest in acquiring some Nokia assets, as it seeks to gain scale in the radio access networks that connect mobile phones to telecom infrastructure. The talks are still at an early stage with no guarantee that a deal will take place, according to the report.

The news came about a month after Nokia reported that its second-quarter operating profit plunged 32 percent due to weak demand for fifth-generation telecom equipment.

A Samsung official declined to comment on the report.

Meanwhile, Samsung has kept a relatively low profile since it acquired the American automotive audio maker Harman in an $8 billion deal in 2017.

Anticipation for the Korean tech giant's big merger and acquisition deals is growing among market watchers.

Vice Chairman and co-CEO Han Jong-hee hinted at the general shareholders’ meeting in March that Samsung will “soon have an opportunity” to announce the news.