Nokia Siemens Networks may sell as much as $1bn in bonds to strengthen its balance sheet, according to reports from Bloomberg and the Financial Times, citing unidentified sources. They said that the sale could happen soon and that it could be used to gauge market interest in the company. The vendor’s board still needs to approve the sale of the debt, Bloomberg noted, although NSN declined to comment.

The vendor has seen its results improve recently. NSN was buoyed in the third quarter by a strong performance from the Asia-Pacific region en route to a record profit. However, sales in North America slumped 6 per cent. Nokia and NSN will report full fourth quarter results tomorrow. NSN has been undergoing a major restructuring since late 2011 as it focuses on mobile broadband.

FierceWireless: Report: Nokia Siemens may raise as much as $1B in bonds; TelecomTV content partner.