Nokia in talks to buy Netro - industry source
NEW YORK, June 15 (Reuters) - Finland's Nokia Ab Oy (NYSE:NOK - news) is in talks
to buy wireless telecommunications equipment maker Netro Corp. (NasdaqNM:NTRO -
news), an industry source said on Thursday.
``Netro cut an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) deal with Nokia, but the reality is that they are probably going to be
bought by them,'' said the source who declined to be identified.
The negotiations, however, could end without an agreement. The timing or price of any potential deal was not immediately
clear.
A spokeswoman for San Jose, Calif.-based Netro said she was not aware of any takeover talks, adding that the company
plans to remain independent. ``At this point in time, we're remaining with our plan to remain independent, working with our
strong partners such as Nokia,'' said Netro spokeswoman Laurie Hallwyler.
Nokia could not be immediately reached for comment.
Shares of Netro, which makes wireless telecommunications access equipment, rose 2-3/4 to 50-1/8 Thursday on Nasdaq.
Netro has a market capitalisation of about $2.5 billion, based on about 50 million shares outstanding.
Under the OEM agreement, announced on June 6, Nokia will market and distribute Netro's AirStar technology to
telecommunications providers worldwide. Netro's technology complements Nokia's products in the broadband wireless access
market, analysts said.
Shares of Netro traded as high as 101-3/16 in early March, but fell as investors turned away from technology stocks. The
stock bottomed out at 24 on May 23, but has rallied in the two weeks before the Nokia OEM agreement was announced.
The rally in the past few days came on rumours that a takeover deal may follow, one analyst said.
Other analysts discounted the rumours of an acquisition, saying that Nokia has everything it needs from Netro through the
OEM agreement without paying for an acquisition. |
