Nokia to sell messaging unit

U.K.-based Synchronica has signed a deal to acquire a Nokia unit that provides e-mail, instant messaging, and other software for cellular carriers.

With the deal, announced late yesterday and expected to close in the third quarter, Synchronica will take over 10 operator contracts, including deals with all four major U.S. carriers and Rogers and Telus in Canada. Also as part of the deal, Synchronica is acquiring a number of Nokia patents and agreeing to provide e-mail and other services that will continue to be preloaded on Nokia's Series 40 phones.

"This acquisition marks a key milestone for Synchronica as we move closer to our goal of becoming the leading global player for next-generation mobile messaging," Synchronica CEO Carsten Brinkschulte said in a statement. "Nokia's successful and highly complementary Operator Branded Messaging business will at a stroke transform Synchronica's scale, profitability and geographic scope."

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

While that settles the future of this unit, what remains less clear is the future Nokia's network equipment joint venture with Siemens. Nokia Siemens Networks was created back in 2006, but is unprofitable and efforts to find a minority or majority investor have yet to bear fruit, according to The Wall Street Journal.