Reaction to the merger of Nokia and Siemens' communication equipment assets has been generally positive. Here is today's analysis from Infonetics Research's Richard Webb:

A Siemens-Nokia partnership looks to be a genuine symbiosis, without too much overlap. In our tracking of the radio access network equipment market, Nokia is definitely A-list, especially in the 3G segment, and combining this with the strength of Siemens in long haul and core and edge fixed networks will create a carrier network heavyweight that could be more than the sum of its parts, a case of 2+2 = 5.

For venture capitalists, the consequences are muted. One the one hand, the merger will create a larger company focused on integration and streamlining in the near term. This opens the door to funding startups that can create better products than the ones Nokia-Siemens are supposed to be making. At the same time, the merger means there will be one less vendor for VC portfolio companies to sell to, distribute through and partner with.

Since this is a European-European deal, the loss of that one vendor does not seem to be as big a loss as it was in the case of Scientific Atlanta-Cisco or even Lucent-Alcatel. That's because Europeans are generally slower to purchase from startups than their counterparts across the pond. And since the European corporates as a whole are reluctant acquirers, the deal will have very little effect on the trade sale market for venture-backed startups.

All in all, for a $30 billion merger, the deal will have very little direct impact on venture capitalists .

For more on the Nokia joint venture with Siemens, see:
Joint press release
The New York Times

Tags: siemens, nokia, merger, vc, venture capital