According to banking sources, JP Morgan led the Eur1.2 billion loan of the Finnish mobile handset manufacturer, Nokia. The latter seeks to buy the stake of Siemens AG in the joint venture company Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN). The acquisition deal was priced Eur1.7 billion and would give Nokia 50% of Siemens stake as the company planned to exit and focus on its other business arms.
Nokia will pay a total of Eur1.2 billion in cash. The other Eur0.5 billion will be paid in the form of a secured loan from Siemens. The said loan will be repaid later on according to sources familiar with the matter. NSN won key contracts in early adopter countries. These contracts included Softbank in Japan and SK Telecom in Korea. The technology used in its mobile handhelds became even popular with European operators SFR in France and Telefonica for its British and German clients. However, it remained weak in the key markets of the US.
The acquisition deal is seen to be completed by the close of the third quarter in 2013.
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