Nokia Weighs Sale of Maps Business to Focus on Networks

Nokia Oyj is exploring the sale of its maps business as the Finnish equipment maker focuses on boosting growth at its wireless-network unit and improving its debt rating, according to people familiar with the matter.

Nokia has reached out to potential buyers including Uber Technologies Inc., the mobile car-booking application, and private-equity firms, the people said. A group of German carmakers has also shown interest, the people said, and bids for the unit are expected as soon as this month.

The maps business, which is known as HERE, is valued at about 2 billion euros ($2.1 billion), according to Nokia’s financial reports. That suggests Nokia’s mapping assets have lost value since 2008, when the company spent $8.1 billion to buy map provider Navteq Corp.

Shares rose 5.6 percent to 7.58 euros in Helsinki, the highest close since 2011, valuing the entire company at about 28 billion euros.

The Finnish company, which is working with a financial adviser, may decide against a sale if it can’t get a price it deems sufficient, the people said. HERE reported full-year sales of 970 million euros and an operating loss of 1.24 billion euros, including a goodwill impairment of 1.21 billion euros, according to the annual report. In January, Nokia projected rising sales for its maps and patents divisions for 2015.

Alcatel-Lucent

Proceeds from a sale of HERE could be used for acquisitions to build Nokia’s network business, including the long-mooted takeover of part of French rival Alcatel-Lucent SA, according to Sebastien Sztabowicz, an analyst at Kepler Cheuvreux in Paris.

“We believe a sale of the mapping business could give further credibility to the scenario of an offer on Alcatel-Lucent’s wireless access business,” Sztabowicz wrote in a note to clients.

Alcatel shares closed up 4.8 percent at 3.83 euros, valuing the Paris-based company at about 10.8 billion euros.

Junk Status

Nokia Chief Executive Officer Rajeev Suri is seeking to reduce the company’s debt and boost its rating from junk status. The company’s map business provides data to Amazon.com Inc., Microsoft Corp., Yahoo! Inc. and four out of five car-navigation systems.

Representatives for Espoo, Finland-based Nokia and Uber declined to comment. Spokesmen for German carmakers Daimler AG and BMW AG also declined to comment, and a representative for Volkswagen AG didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Last year, Nokia named Sean Fernback to head the maps business. Fernback, who joined Nokia from Dutch navigation-device maker TomTom NV, replaced Michael Halbherr, who left the company after disagreeing over the unit’s strategy with CEO Suri, people familiar with the matter said at the time. There was internal debate over whether the unit should focus on automotive and enterprise clients or also continue to target consumers, the people said.

Nokia has three businesses left after it sold its phone-unit to Microsoft for about $7.5 billion: the networks division, which makes up about 90 percent of total revenue, its maps business, and a research and development unit which is responsible for licensing its patents. In January the company reported fourth-quarter net income of 443 million euros, and sales that rose 9.4 percent to 3.8 billion euros.