Japanese firm NEC is negotiating with its PC venture partner Lenovo Group to sell its beleaguered mobile phone division.
NEC is divesting its assets to boost profitability following two years of regular quarterly financial losses in addition to a declining market share.
NEC said in a statement: "Amid the rapidly changing market we are considering a number of ways to bolster the competitiveness of our mobile phone business, but nothing has been decided."
In addition, Reuters reported that NEC plans to sell its mobile services division NEC Mobiling for about $850m in another deal,
The move would support Lenovo, which has been planning to boost its current mobile business by making it a strong payer in the competitive handset market.
Additionally, Lenovo was earlier reportedly considering to acquire Research in Motion (RIM) as part of its strategy to boost its mobile business.
In October 2012, NEC had trimmed down its mobile phone sales target for the year ending March 2013 to 4.3 million from earlier approximation of 5 million units.
