ATLANTA-Nokia Corp. announced it will acquire LCC International Inc.’s U.S.-based network deployment operations. The deal is expected to close in 45 days and impacts 80 LCCI employees, some of whom may become Nokia employees.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed. However, according to CIBC World Markets analyst Ittai Kidron, his firm believes the deal has a cash value of well below $100 million.
The purchase appears to bolster Nokia’s network services in the United States as LCC counts Sprint Nextel Corp. and Verizon Wireless as customers, according to Kidron. The CIBC analyst does not expect the deal to impact Nokia’s bottom line.
Nokia’s network division posted a drop in earnings in the first quarter to $184 million, down from $272 million in the year-ago quarter. Network equipment and service is a small portion of Nokia’s overall revenue picture, as handsets accounted for $1.7 billion in the firm’s first-quarter revenue-thus the lack of growth in network revenue did not significantly impact the company’s overall earnings. The network infrastructure division at Nokia’s rival, Motorola Inc., also exerted a significant drag on the Schaumburg, Ill.-based handset maker’s overall first-quarter earnings. Thus, with the LCCI purchase, Nokia could add strength in an area where Motorola has struggled.
In a statement accompanying the news, Nokia said that the LCCI deal “addresses operator demand for a partner that can deliver a complete range of services, from deployment operations to consulting and integration to managed services,” and strengthens Nokia’s ability to execute network rollouts across the United States.
LCCI provides a range of network services in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
