Nokia Corp. has decided to exit from the wireless modem business by selling it to Japan’s Renesas Electronics Corp. for about $ 200 million.

As part of the offloading, around 1,000 R &D employees under Nokia’s fold will be transferred to Renesas. Employees from India will also be transferred. As part of the acquisition, Renesas would acquire Nokia's wireless modem technologies for LTE, HSPA and GSM standards.

The development follows the two firms aligning to develop modem technologies for Evolved High-Speed Packet Access/Long-Term Evolution (HSPA+/LTE). The two firms aim to extend the partnership to work towards long-term joint research cooperation on future radio technologies.

"As part of this alliance, the companies have entered into an agreement whereby Renesas Electronics is to acquire Nokia's wireless modem business for approximately $200 million," said a joint statement from the two companies.

The deal is expected to be completed by Q4 2010.

The Finnish firm would also transfer certain patents to Renesas, a leading supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions.

"The alliance enables us to continue to focus on our own core businesses, connecting people to what matters to them with our mobile products and solutions," Nokia Executive Vice President, Mr Kai Oistamo said.

"In order to implement the planned business transfer, Nokia will start the appropriate personnel consultation process with its personnel representatives, according to each applicable jurisdiction's labour law requirements," it added.