Finland-based mobile telephone maker Nokia on Monday said it would buy Germany’s Siemens stake in their joint venture, Nokia Siemens Networks, for 1.7 billion euros (2.2 billion dollars).

The 50-50 joint venture was set up in 2007, and provides telecommunications infrastructure for fixed and mobile networks.

The boards of both companies had approved the deal that was expected to be completed during the third quarter, pending approval from regulatory authorities.

Nokia said the acquisition would make Nokia Siemens Networks a fully owned subsidiary, and it planned to keep the existing management team.

Operational headquarters were to remain in Espoo, Finland, and it would continue to have a strong regional presence in Germany, including Munich where it has a hub, the statement said.

The deal presented “an attractive growth opportunity,” Nokia chief executive Stephen Elop said, citing the joint venture’s leading position in wireless data communications technology, LTE.

The firms said 1.2 billion euros of the sales price would be paid in cash, the remaining 500 million euros was to be paid a year after the closing of the deal.

The joint venture has struggled with losses but in 2011 launched a cost-cutting programme. In the first quarter this year it showed an operating profit.

At the end of the first quarter, Nokia Siemens Networks had about 56,700 employees, a cut of 11,900 employees year-on-year.

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