Ericsson revealed it is taking longer than expected to complete the sale of a majority stake in its media business to a private equity partner, noting the deal is now expected to close in Q4 rather than Q3.

After reviewing options for its media unit, Ericsson in January announced plans to sell 51 per cent of its Media Solutions business to One Equity Partners. The deal was set to close in Q3 and, working toward that goal, Ericsson in July debuted a new brand for the unit: MediaKind.

But Ericsson said the process of separating MediaKind’s operations from its global structure and setting up the “appropriate operating entities” for the standalone business is proving to be “more complex than originally expected”. The work must be completed before the company begins functioning independently to ensure a smooth transition for customers and employees, it added.

The company said the divestment of MediaKind is still expected to yield additional expenses totalling SEK0.3 billion ($33.7 million) in the second half of the year. But these costs should fall equally between Q3 and Q4, rather than solely in Q3 as previously expected, Ericcson noted.

Ericsson isn’t letting MediaKind fall by the wayside while work on the separation continues. Since August, MediaKind inked deals to provide products and services for Digicel in Papua New Guinea, TotalPlay in Mexico, Cogeco Connexion in Canada and TangerineGlobal in the US.