SYT Hotcopper thread regulars identify takeover targets in Telco space.
A review of potential competition to the SYT service offering by rival Comptel by HC regulars ,which SYT management suggested the company was not even on their radar when it came to service offering. It was certainly on somebodies radar as the M&A activity in the sector heats up!
Nokia Buys Comptel for $370 Million to Add Network Software
More stories by Ville Heiskanen
- Network maker expanding beyond equipment to bolster sales
- Purchase part of effort to build standalone software business
Nokia Oyj agreed to buy
Comptel Oyj for 347 million euros ($370 million) to add technology that helps phone carriers manage their networks, part of a push into software and services as network-gear sales sputter.
Comptel shareholders will get 3.04 euros a share in cash, Espoo, Finland-based Nokia said in a
statement Thursday. That’s 29 percent more than Comptel’s closing price on the Helsinki exchange Wednesday.
Nokia and rivals such as
Ericsson AB of Sweden are trying to sell more services and software to wireless carriers to reduce reliance on cyclical network-equipment revenue. Phone companies in several key markets have largely completed their faster fourth-generation networks, putting pressure on infrastructure manufacturers such as Nokia to look for new customers and revenue streams.
“Operators today are trying to move from being traditional communications companies to digital-service providers,” Bhaskar Gorti, head of Nokia’s Applications & Analytics unit, said at a Helsinki media conference. “Nokia and Comptel strongly believe that we, together, can help our customers in their transformation.”
Shares of Comptel
jumped 31 percent to 3.08 euros at 1:13 p.m. local time, above the offer price, while Nokia
added 1.5 percent to 4.61 euros.
Nokia may get competition from other bidders, analysts at FIM said in a note. The premium is low and it’s possible shareholders don’t accept Nokia’s offer, the analysts said. Comptel’s board recommends the offer.
The acquisition gives Nokia programs to help process and analyze data traveling in carriers’ networks -- part of its plan to build a standalone software business,
announcedin 2015. The unit will focus on enterprise software and platforms for Internet-of-Things, and Nokia aims to make it as profitable as major companies in the field.
“This is interesting and something Nokia has achieved in the past,” UBS analysts including Gareth Jenkins said in a note. Expansion into new areas is “essential” for Nokia, they said.
Last week, Nokia reported a 13 percent decline in fourth-quarter
revenue to 6.7 billion euros as equipment sales plummeted. Services sales at Nokia’s networks business were relatively stable at about 2.5 billion euros.
For more speculative research and conjecture based on little or no factual basis focused on Telco market activity, keep viewing the SYT thread on Hotcopper, the home of Telco conjecture!
