German engineering conglomerate Siemens is in talks with Canada's Nortel Networks Corp over a link-up with Siemens' ailing mobile phones unit, a German magazine reported on Saturday. News weekly Der Spiegel quoted Siemens sources as saying the company was considering either working together with Nortel or buying a stake in the Canadian telecoms equipment supplier to boost the two companies' market share. Spiegel said, in an advance copy of its next edition, that Siemens declined to comment on the report.
Ontario-based Nortel is in the midst of working to put a painful accounting scandal behind it so that it can focus on growth.
Separately, German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung said Siemens was in advanced partnership talks with Acer Inc, Taiwan's top personal computer company, over its mobile phone business.
Siemens recently launched a huge cost-cutting drive at the loss-making unit, whose problems the company has said must be solved before the business can be sold or put into a partnership.
Investors hope for news of Siemens's plans for the unit, which has reported several consecutive quarters of losses, when the company reports fiscal second-quarter results on April 27.
It also does not rule out keeping the business or closing it down altogether.
Acer was not immediately reachable by Reuters. The Sueddeutsche said Acer had declined to comment.