Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) is reported to be in talks with several private equity firms about them investing around US$1 billion for a minority stake in the joint venture infrastructure vendor. Interested parties cited by the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal (WSJ) include Bain Capital, Blackstone, KKR, Silver Lake Partners and TPG. The discussions are said to still be at the “exploratory” stage and any such deal is intended to help NSN finance its recent US$1.2 billion purchase of Motorola’s network equipment business. It is believed that a successful outcome would see some of the groups team up, as the US$1 billion equity investment is deemed too large for any one of them alone.

The WSJ notes that any deal “would be fraught with complexity” because NSN is a joint venture between Finland’s Nokia and Germany’s Siemens, with each parent owning a 50 percent stake. The six-year partnership ends in 2013. If a private-equity firm were to take a minority stake, it would have to share control of the company with two corporate owners (buyout firms usually prefer to exert full control). The goal is to ready NSN for an IPO in a few years, which would allow Nokia and Siemens to exit the joint venture. Since the company’s formation in 2007 there has been frequent speculation that one or both could seek an early exit, indeed reports last month claimed Nokia and Siemens have considered selling their stakes in the joint venture in recent months. The firm, which employs about 60,000 people, recorded a EUR1.6 billion operating loss last year and has faced increased competition from China’s Huawei.