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3GScottishUser
7th August 2005, 10:06 AM
From The Business On-Line (06/08/2005):

US networking giant Cisco is considering buying Finnish phonemaker Nokia in the wake of chief executive Jorma Ollila's resignation.

Cisco has traditionally concentrated on acquisitions of niche technology players, but chief executive John Chambers is believed to be interested in merging with a big wireless infrastructure company. Nokia has been identified as the most likely target.

Earlier this year, Chambers indicated he was interested in an alliance with Nortel, saying: "I am at the altar waiting to partner." But, according to industry sources, Chambers may soon be courting a Finnish fiancee. Industry analysts believe Cisco, valued at $123bn (£69bn, E101bn) and Nokia, worth $71bn, would be a perfect fit for one another.

Keith Woolcock, an analyst at Westhall Capital, said: "Cisco is known to be interested in merging with an infrastructure company and could be turning its attention away from Nortel and towards Nokia."

The networking market where Cisco operates is moving fast as fixed and mobile networks converge when markets outside the US are becoming increasingly vital to Cisco's growth. Cisco needs a merger to acquire the technology needed to create intelligent wireless applications, where Nokia has expertise.

Full Story Here (http://thebusinessonline.com/Stories.aspx?StoryID=645F05D4-50A6-43BE-90DE-89F12DE66E9F&SectionID=F3B76EF0-7991-4389-B72E-D07EB5AA1CEE)

Ben
7th August 2005, 12:11 PM
Curious! It'd certainly bolster Nokia's future in IP based communications no doubt, and it may lead to an improvement in their network equipment... but sometimes change isn't a good thing, and as far as I'm concerned Nokia isn't broken and so doesn't need fixing! They've done very well to hold on to their market share and keep pumping out great phones - I'd be worried that under Cisco they might lose their direction.

3GScottishUser
7th August 2005, 12:24 PM
I suspect if it happened they would be pretty independent as a separate division. I cant imagine Cisco wanting to tamper with the branding etc nor the R+D in terms of mobile stuff. Where there may be some excellent benefits would be in the development of base stations and infrastructure. This would bring cisco know how to a major wireless manufacturer.

Might come to nothing of course but makes some sense.