Telecom Lead Asia: Redknee, a provider of billing and charging software and solutions, is set to buy Nokia Siemens Networks’ Business Support Systems (BSS) business, for €40 million.
Redknee will absorb 1200 employees of Nokia Siemens Networks.
The employees expected to transfer to Redknee are mainly based in Berlin, Germany; Bangalore, India; and Wroclaw, Poland.
This means that a part of 1200 BSS employees will move from Nokia Siemens’ Bangalore unit to Redknee. Nokia Siemens did not disclose the size of its BSS employees in Bangalore who will be moved to Redknee.
It is not known whether Nokia Siemens Networks’ 130 communication service providers, including half of the top 100 global mobile operators, would move to Redknee.
Earlier, Nokia Siemens was in talks with Ericsson and other equipment vendors for selling BSS unit as part of its focus on mobile broadband business.
The transaction will create opportunities to Nokia Siemens’ competitors to grab market share in the BSS space.
According to Gartner, Ericsson has been ranked second in Operation and Business Support Systems (OSS/BSS) and next generation Service Delivery Platforms. Gartner, in its latest report, said Ericsson has been ranked #2 worldwide on Telecom Operations Management Systems (BSS, OSS and SDP) 2011 based on revenue.
The planned acquisition would bring to Redknee a complementary global footprint that spans more than 90 countries across Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa.
Lucas Skoczkowski, Redknee’s CEO, said: “This planned acquisition marks a significant milestone in Redknee’s growth strategy.”
Redknee’s investment in the product roadmap will ensure that its customers will benefit from the complementary capabilities, larger scale, and impressive IP portfolio. In addition, this acquisition would create a significant solution suite that offers a compelling and proven alternative for global system integrators and partners.
Rajeev Suri, CEO of Nokia Siemens Networks, said: “This transaction supports our transformation to focus on mobile broadband.”
Nokia Siemens Networks would retain a small number of broader customer contracts that include elements of BSS for GSM-R and mobile broadband related mediation.
The total consideration paid by Redknee for the BSS business will include €15 million in cash at closing, plus a maximum of €25 million for certain performance-based cash earn-outs expected to be paid over 12 to 36 months post-closing.
