UTStarcom Inc. will sell its mobile communications business to the private equity firm OpenGate Capital in a deal it expect to close in three weeks, the company said Monday.
The deal's terms were not released. But in April, Paul Wehner, a senior research analyst for DLS Capital Management LLC in Bannockburn, Ill., told the Business Times he estimated the division and its assets could be worth as much as $200 million.
The Alameda company, which has its biggest market in China, started to shift its focus to Internet protocol home communications and entertainment equipment in 2007. "The sale of our Mobile Solutions business marks one step towards achieving that strategic goal," said Peter Blackmore, UTStarcom's chief operating officer, and CEO starting July 1.
Blackmore will succeed Hong Liang Lu, who will become UTStarcom's (NASDAQ: UTSI) executive chairman of the board.
