Nokia Siemens Networks expects to close its $1.2 billion acquisition of Motorola Solutions' (NYSE:MSI) networking business, and is working with Chinese authorities to get their seal of approval, NSN's CEO said. The vendor also is seeking to reassure Huawei over intellectual property concerns; Huawei has sued Motorola, accusing it of illegally transferring Huawei's intellectual property to NSN.
"We continue to work with Chinese authorities," NSN CEO Rajeev Suri told Reuters in an interview. China's Ministry of Commerce, which is looking over the deal, has delayed the consummation of the transaction.
A federal judge granted Huawei a temporary restraining order earlier this week that prevents Motorola from turning over any of Huawei's confidential information to Nokia Siemens, putting the deal on hold. Importantly U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman in Chicago did not rule on the merits of the lawsuit, but issued the order to limit any potential damage to Huawei while the lawsuit is resolved. The judge also said Motorola must notify Huawei immediately if China's Ministry of Commerce takes any action. Motorola has said the lawsuit is without merit.
Nokia Siemens sought to cool down rhetoric on both sides. The vendor said it "has absolutely no interest in Huawei's trade secrets."
"We don't need that information, we don't want it, and we fully respect the intellectual property rights of others," Michael Matthews, the head of NSN's strategy and business development, wrote in a blog post.
In its lawsuit, Huawei said that in 2000 the company entered into a cooperative relationship with Motorola in which Motorola resold Huawei's wireless networks products--including radio access network and core network products covering UMTS, GSM and other technologies--using the Motorola name. Motorola was provided with products and confidential Huawei intellectual property under the agreement.
In the complaint, Huawei said Motorola is obligated to maintain the secrecy of the confidential information that Huawei provided under the agreement. The company said that since Motorola plans to transfer its wireless infrastructure business to Nokia Siemens Networks, which competes directly with Huawei, it will result in a disclosure of Huawei's confidential information to NSN and harm Huawei's business.
For more:
- see this Reuters article
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