DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Network equipment vendor Nokia Siemens Networks said Friday it
has "absolutely no interest" in the trade secrets of its Chinese
rival, Huawei Technology Co.
Huawei, which is privately owned, took legal action this week to
delay the sale of some of U.S.-based Motorola's assets to Nokia
Siemens, claiming it would improperly transfer the Chinese
company's intellectual property.
Huawei said Motorola has sold rebranded Huawei equipment since
2000, and argued that the deal would turn its technology over to
one of its biggest competitors.
Motorola has said the claim is without merit. The company
recently split into two parts and agreed in July to sell the bulk
of its network-equipment business to Nokia Siemens Networks for
$1.2 billion.
Nokia Siemens, a joint venture between Finland's Nokia Corp.
(NOK) and Germany's Siemens AG (SI), wouldn't comment in detail on
the case Friday. But its head of strategy and business development,
Michael Matthews, said the planned transaction "is absolutely not
about getting access to confidential information on Huawei or its
business."
Nokia Siemens said it remains committed to the deal, adding that
it is continuing to work with Chinese authorities to get the final
antitrust approval required to complete the acquisition. The deal
was originally expected to close late last year, but has been
delayed while Chinese antitrust authorities review the
transaction.
-By Gustav Sandstrom, Dow Jones Newswires; +46-8-5451-3099;
gustav.sandstrom@dowjones.com