NEW YORK (AP) — Nokia Siemens Networks said Tuesday that a regulatory hurdle will keep it from completing its acquisition of Motorola Corp.'s network equipment business by the end of the year, as planned.
Instead, the joint venture between Finland's Nokia Corp. and Germany's Siemens AG plans to close the deal in the first quarter of 2011.
The company said that the Anti-Monopoly Bureau of the Ministry of Commerce of China still has to approve the takeover.
Motorola, based in Schaumburg, Ill., is splitting into two companies effective Jan. 4. It is separating its consumer-oriented side, which makes cell phones and cable set-top boxes, from the side that sells police radios and barcode scanners to government and corporate customers. In preparation for the split, Motorola said in July that it would sell its network equipment division for $1.2 billion to Nokia Siemens Networks.
The split of Motorola has been driven by a desire to present two simple stories to investors rather than one complex one. It was announced in 2008, but delayed with phone sales collapsing.
