Huawei May Sell Majority of Handset Unit

Huawei Technologies Co., China's biggest phone-network equipment maker, is considering selling a majority stake of a handset unit that may be worth at least $4 billion, two people familiar with the plan said.

 

They will begin first-round bids for its mobile-devices business by Monday, according to a report from Dow Jones. The Chinese vendor has been targeting private-equity firms to buy the unit, according to the article.
The vendor is also open to selling a controlling interest in the unit, which makes handsets, data cards, DSL modems, convergence devices and video products.

In May, it was revealed that Vodafone and AT&T were interested in taking a 50-percent stake in Huawei's handset business. Huawei confirmed today that it is exploring opportunities for private-equity firms to invest in its mobile devices division. Through a sale or partial sale of the division, Huawei hopes it can gain inroads in the U.S. market by offering low-cost handsets to the market, meanwhile, a potential buyer gets its hands on a lucrative Chinese business. Huawei, however, isn't looking for a sale to a competitor as it wants to keep its brand intact. Huawei's handset division is reportedly profitable, and the vendor is looking for more funds to increase its handset production to 50 million devices a year.

Sources: Bloomberg