LONDON (Standard&Poor's) June 16, 2006--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that its ratings and outlook on Finland-based mobile handset and infrastructure manufacturer Nokia Corp. (A/Stable/A-1) are unaffected by the company's announced merger of its Network Business Group with Siemens AG's (AA-/Stable/A-1+) carrier–related operations. Standard&Poor's considers that the transaction has a sound rationale in an environment characterized by carrier consolidation and fierce competition. The new group will benefit from an expanded product portfolio and geographic presence and is likely to be better prepared to deal with the convergence of mobile and fixed-line technologies. The new group expects significant synergies and about €1.5 billion in restructuring costs associated with plans to reduce its 60,000 strong headcount by
