Nokia Siemens Networks has signed an agreement to acquire Istanbul-based IRIS Telecom, a telecom and engineering services firm.
Subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, the deal is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2011.
Nokia Siemens said that the acquisition will combine IRIS’s multi-vendor network planning and optimisation (NPO) business with its global capabilities.
The company will continue to use the IRIS Telecom name and be operationally independent with its head office in Istanbul, Turkey, regional offices in Ankara and Izmir, and subsidiaries in Uzbekistan and Belarus.
In addition, IRIS’s current CEO Mete Gokdemir will continue in his role, and Johan Bruce, currently chairman of the telecom firm’s board, will be nominated as executive director of the company.
Nokia Siemens Networks regional head of Services Geert Buijk said the company will use IRIS Telecom’s localised operations and position in NPO to improve its own service delivery model in Turkey, Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
