Latham Advises Ericsson on Network API Joint Venture
Latham & Watkins has advised Ericsson on a new joint venture with some of the world’s largest telecom operators, including América Móvil, AT&T, Bharti Airtel, Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Reliance Jio, Singtel, Telefonica, Telstra, T-Mobile, Verizon, and Vodafone, to combine and sell network Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) on a global scale to spur innovation in digital services.
Upon closing, Ericsson will hold 50% of the equity in the venture while the telecom providers will hold 50% in total. The transaction is expected to close early 2025, subject to regulatory approvals.
The venture will drive implementation and access to common APIs from multiple telecom service providers to a broader ecosystem of developer platforms. The newly formed company will combine network APIs globally, with a vision that new applications will work anywhere and on any network, making it easier and quicker for developers to innovate.
The Latham team was led by London corporate partners Nick Cline and Emily Cridland, with associates Nathan Van As and Francesca Forzoni. Advice on US corporate matters was provided by Boston counsel Andrew Moosmann, with associates Allison First and Gen Bates; on antitrust/FDI matters by Madrid partner José María Jiménez-Laiglesia and Washington, D.C. partners Damara Chambers and Jim Barker, with London counsel Ludmilla Le Grand and Brussels counsel Philipp Studt, and Washington, D.C. counsel Zachary Eddington; on US IP/DTT matters by Boston partner Sarah Gagan, with associate Matthew Snyder and New York associate Pelin Serpin; on data privacy matters by London partner Gail Crawford, with associates Victoria Wan and Timothy Neo; on employment matters by Chicago partner Nineveh Alkhas, with counsel Laura Waller; on UK tax matters by London partner Karl Mah, with associates Lina Le Roux and Isabella Wong; on US tax matters by New York partner Eric Kamerman; on sanctions/ABC matters by Washington, D.C. partner Erin Brown-Jones; and on US litigation matters by New York partner Zachary Rowen, with associate Nathan Taylor.