Nokia Siemens Networks is reportedly in advanced talks to sell its business support systems division.

Bloomberg reported that the division, which helps phone operators manage their billing systems, has attracted interest from trade buyers Ericsson and Amdocs as well as a number of private equity firms. 

Nokia Siemens is looking to cut costs as the faltering world economy puts pressure on telecoms infrastructure spending. The company, a joint venture that combines the network equipment units of Nokia and Siemens, intends to cut a third of its workforce, some 17,000 jobs, by the end of 2013.

The company, which suffered an operating loss of €227m in the second quarter of the year, was in talks with private equity firms to sell the whole venture last year but did not receive an attractive offer. 

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