Nokia stock up on deal speculation
February 27, 2020
A report in its home country of Finland said Nokia is considering strategic options and was working with advisers to consider potential asset sales and mergers, citing people familiar with the matter. Nokia declined to comment.
In October, Nokia slashed its 2019 and 2020 profit outlook and halted dividend payouts, saying profits would come under pressure as the company increased investments in 5G technology.
Nokia competes with Huawei and Ericsson for orders for new 5G networks which are at the centre of a brewing technology war between United States and China.
The mobile telecom network industry has consolidated heavily in the past decade, with Nokia buying out Siemens mobile from a VC and acquiring Alcatel-Lucent, leaving just three global players.
Large telecom operators see three vendors as a bare minimum for keeping competition alive in the industry.