Nokia Siemens Networks is in talks to buy the telecom-equipment arm of Motorola Inc., people familiar with the matter said, a deal that would hasten the dismantling of the U.S. technology company.
The two companies are discussing terms, and a deal could be worth $1.1 billion to $1.3 billion, one of the people said. A deal could be reached in the next few weeks, people familiar with the matter said, though talks could still fall apart. A Motorola spokeswoman declined to comment.
The Motorola unit in question mainly makes older-generation equipment for telecommunications networks, but would give Nokia Siemens access to offer its newer wares to those customers as they upgrade.
Nokia Siemens vies for the No. 2 spot in global wireless equipment sales with low-cost Chinese supplier Huawei Technologies Co. Huawei was also looking at the Motorola unit, but negotiations with the company have cooled, perhaps due concerns about clearing security hurdles, people familiar with the matter said.
Nokia Siemens, a joint venture of Nokia Corp. of Finland and Siemens AG of Germany, has made no secret of its interest in breaking into the U.S. market through acquisitions. Last year, it tried to buy two units from Nortel Networks Corp. in a bankruptcy court auction, but the businesses went to other bidders.
Motorola, a telecom pioneer that fell behind the curve in technology and consumer electronics, is in the process of splitting into two companies in hopes of boosting its market value. One company would contain the units producing network equipment and communications gear for professional customers like police and fire departments, the other would make mobile phones and television set-top boxes.
While Motorola has focused its energies on the split rather than a sale, co-Chief Executive Greg Brown has said the company would consider offers for the networks business. The Motorola networks unit has an installed base of equipment with large carriers including Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp. It reported $366 million in profit last year, as cost cuts outpaced a 20% decline in sales to $4.1 billion.
