COVENTRY-based telecoms equipment group Marconi has agreed to sell off the bulk of its assets to rival Ericsson in a deal worth around £1.2bn.
The Swedish firm will take on the Marconi trademark as well as a range of equipment-based operations, leaving the remainder of the UK company as a services provider to telecoms companies.
Some 6,670 Marconi staff will move to Ericsson, but the Swedish firm warned that job cuts were "unavoidable".
It said 1,000 jobs were at risk at Marconi's sites in the UK and overseas.
Ericsson said the deal would help it to meet growing global demand for mobile and fixed broadband internet access.
The deal includes an initial contribution of £185m to ensure the rights of 69,000 members of Marconi's UK pension plan are protected.
Marconi, which has its head office on Coventry's New Century Business Park, currently employs around 9,000 people worldwide, with 2,000 staff in the UK set to be retained within the business not being acquired.
by Ericsson.
That operation will be renamed Telent.
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