NSN sells WiMAX biz to Skyview's NewNet

Just after announcing that it would lay off about 17,000 employees over the next two years, Nokia Siemens Networks said Tuesday that it was selling its WiMAX business unit to a portfolio company run by private equity firm Skyview Capital.

The deal with NewNet Communications Technologies is expected to close before the end of the year.

The WiMAX business and related assets had been listed by NSN among areas that it might exit or shut down as it sought to carry out a massive corporate restructuring. The unit, which includes about 300 employees in the U.S. and China, was acquired by NSN as part of the Motorola Solutions (NYSE: MSI) deal, which cost NSN close to $1 billion.

The WiMAX sale follows an announcement from early November that NSN planned to sell its microwave radio assets to Dragonwave.

Just last year, Nokia and Siemens collectively invested more than $1.3 billion more in NSN in an effort to keep the venture afloat.

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