Finnish telecoms equipment giant Nokia has sought a new buyer for a majority stake in its joint venture with Beijing-based Huawei, after a planned deal fell through last year following strong protests from its Chinese partner. i got you.
Under the latest agreement, wireless technology company TD Tech will be jointly managed by Huawei and a group of companies including government-owned Chengdu High-Tech Investment Group and Chengdu Gaoshin Jicui Technology Co., Ltd., as well as venture capital firm Huagai. , it was reported. Disclosure information released by the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) on Friday.
The document does not reveal how many shares each new participant will own. Before the sale, Nokia owned 51% of TD Tech shares and Huawei held 49%.
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The regulator said there were no antitrust concerns with the deal and that it would seek public comment until January 28. According to SAMR, Huawei and TD Tech together have just 10% of China’s smartphone market, but it did not specify how long. data.
Huawei mobile phone advertisement in Shanghai, China. Photo: Bloomberg alt=Huawei mobile phone advertisement in Shanghai, China. Photo: Bloomberg>
Huawei captured a 14% share of China’s smartphone market in the third quarter of last year, ranking fifth behind spin-off Honor and rivals Oppo, Vivo and Apple, according to data from market intelligence firm Counterpoint Research. .
Founded in 2005, TD Tech was a joint venture between Huawei and German technology conglomerate Siemens until 2007, when Siemens sold half its stake to Nokia. In 2013, Siemens sold all its shares and Nokia became the main shareholder.
TD Tech is known for its wireless communications equipment, including 4G and 5G networking equipment, and serves 8 million industry customers in more than 100 countries, according to its website.
Nokia was the majority shareholder in the joint venture, but Huawei became the de facto controller, industry sources said.
Yang Guang, a telecommunications analyst at research firm Omdia, said last year that “the management team is former Huawei employees, and the product solutions are based on Huawei products but fine-tuned for the industry market. “There is,” he said.
When Nokia tried to sell a majority stake to Shanghai-listed ink maker Xintong New Materials last year, Huawei threatened to stop licensing its technology to TD Tech. The deal ultimately fell through.
Huawei probably didn’t want to lose control of TD Tech, which would allow the Chinese tech giant to avoid some of the US sanctions and address certain market segments more efficiently. Possibly, Yang said at the time.
In 2021, TD Tech began selling what amounts to a rebranded Huawei phone under its own brand. That included his M40 5G, which used Taiwan-based MediaTek’s 7-nanometer chip rather than Huawei’s own Kirin processor.
Sanctions imposed by the U.S. government now prohibit companies from selling advanced chips made with U.S.-originated technology to Huawei, including MediaTek processors made by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world’s largest contract chipmaker. is prohibited.
Despite U.S. regulations, Huawei last year launched the Mate 60 Pro, a device equipped with an advanced domestically produced 5G processor.
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