This is because, Pescatore says, the Finnish vendor had been looking to exit the partnership for some time amid continuing tensions between the US and China.
“While the main reason for the deal has not been disclosed you cannot ignore the ongoing geo-political tensions between the East and West as well as margins being squeezed with all businesses looking to cut costs and drive efficiencies,” Pescatore told Capacity.
He added: “The loss of AT&T on a major Open Ran deal to an arch-rival underlines the importance of the US market to all network vendors.”
It was announced over the weekend by the South China Morning Post (SCMP) that Nokia found new buyers for its majority stake in TD Tech after a deal fell through last year.
The latest agreement will see TD Tech be jointly controlled by Huawei and a group of entities including government-owned Chengdu High-Tech Investment Group and Chengdu Goaxin Jiciu Technology as well as venture capital firm Huagai.
Exact shares under the new agreement are not known, but before the sale, Nokia owned 51% of TD Tech while Huawei owned 49%.
TD Tech was founded in 2005 and was a joint venture between Huawei and Siemens until 2007 when Siemens sold half of its stake to Nokia.
In 2013, the German company divested all its shares making Nokia the major shareholder.
TD Tech has a presence in more than 100 countries and serves eight million customers according to its website.
