Nokia Siemens Networks looks to raise €700m from public markets

Telecoms equipment maker Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) is planning to go to the public markets to raise up to €700m (£587m) from high-yield bonds.

People familiar with the plans told the Financial Times that the telecoms equipment provider would issue bonds this spring and use the money to pay off debt and further invest in the business.

NSN is testing out how interested investors are in the telecoms equipment maker, ahead of a possible listing, the FT said.

According to Bloomberg, NSN abandoned talks with private equity firms in July 2011 as they failed to come up with an attractive proposition.

Earlier this month, NSN parent firm Nokia reported that NSN had delivered "record underlying profitability" in "yet another very good quarter". This has been seen as a result of cost cutting and focusing on selling its equipment to 4G operators.

Nokia last week outlined plans to cut over 1,000 jobs from its IT organisation as part of previously announced restructuring, which will eventually see the company axe 10,000 employees worldwide.

The troubled firm recently dropped from a list of the top five smartphone vendors, being replaced by RIM. However, it did beat profit forecasts for the final quarter of 2012, thanks largely to sales of its Lumia smartphone.