Ailing joint venture.

Nokia and Siemens face a long hard battle to spruce up their telecom gear joint venture for disposal and an initial public offering appears to be the only real exit option.

Nokia and Siemens joint venture Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) has attracted unsolicited interest from private equity firms, NSN's Chief Executive Officer Rajeev Suri said on Monday.

Nokia and Siemens have confirmed previous reports that they are seeking an outside investor in their Nokia Siemens Networks joint venture. The move could be a prelude to a stock market floatation in 2013, the Financial Times reported.

Top mobile phone maker Nokia and chip maker Intel said on Tuesday their software joint venture had got off to a solid start.