Nokia continued to play down media reports claiming it is weighing options for its Mobile Networks business, which included speculation Samsung could potentially make a shock move to buy some of the assets.

In a stock market statement, Nokia asserted there is “nothing to announce in relation to the speculations published” adding “no related insider project exists”.

It reiterated elements of comments a representative gave to Mobile World Live yesterday (29 August) around the progress made by the Mobile Networks unit around cost-cutting, again referring to the division as a “highly strategic asset”.

Though the company habitually does not comment on speculation, its statement today (30 August) was seemingly deemed necessary due to what it described as “recent trading activity of its stock due to a market rumour”.

Speculation about the future of Nokia’s Mobile Networks assets emerged from a story published by Bloomberg linking Samsung with a potential move which could have valued the division at $10 billion.   

The news outlet also claimed Nokia had held talks with advisers on various options for the division, which has suffered from weakness in the mobile market in recent quarters.