NSN to sell optical fibre unit to Marlin Equity Partners, cut 650 German jobs
04 Dec 2012
Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN), the struggling data networking and telecommunications equipment company, yesterday agreed to sell its optical fibre unit to Marlin Equity Partners and cut 650 jobs in Germany.
NSN did not disclose the fianacial terms of the deal.
NSN, the world's second-largest maker of telecommunications equipment, said that the sale is part of its plan to focus on becoming a mobile broadband specialist and concentrate investment on its core segments.
Los Angeles California-based Marlin Equity Partners, a private equity firm with over $1 billion of capital under management, has formed a new company and intends to act as a consolidator, building an industry leader in the fragmented optical networking sector.
''We are making a major commitment to this sector, and have significant capital under management that we intend to use as a catalyst for consolidation,'' said Nick Kaiser, a co-founder and partner at Marlin Equity Partners.
The new optical company will be headquartered in Munich, Germany with operations around the world and will be led by its existing management team with Herbert Merz to head the company.