Ericsson sells field services subsidiary

Ericsson announced a deal to sell its field services operation in Sweden to local company Transtema Group, a divestment the vendor said falls in-line with its business strategy.

In a statement, the vendor explained the deal covers Ericsson Local Services, a subsidiary which supplies field services operations and maintenance of fixed and mobile networks in Sweden. As part of the deal, Transtema Group will acquire all of the unit’s assets and continue the operation with the existing 700 employees.

Ericsson said divesting the unit was part of its strategy, “a key part of which is Managed Services and operating networks on behalf of our customers”.

The divestment means Ericsson will no longer sell new stand-alone field services projects, the vendor added.

In the past year Ericsson has cut the number of managed services deals it operates in an attempt to boost profitability in the business.

Per Narvinger, head of customer unit Northern and Central Europe, market area Europe and Latin America at Ericsson, said Transtema Group had an “excellent opportunity to continue to develop field service operations while also executing on customer commitments”.

A fee was not disclosed and the deal is expected to close in Q3, subject to conditions.

Yesterday (10 July), Ericsson also announced it has rebranded its Media Solutions business to MediaKind, as it gave a face-lift to the unit following a recent strategic review.