UTStarcom sells off its mobile solutions unit, appoints new CEO

Telecoms equipment maker UTStarcom Inc will sell its mobile solutions business unit to the private equity firm OpenGate Capital, in a deal expected to close in three weeks, as a part of the restructuring effort it initiated last year. Simultaneously, the company named a new chief executive. While the financial details of the deal were not disclosed, the planned sale of the business unit is a move taken to cut the company’s cost, in line with its restructuring effort. The Alameda Company said it will shift its focus to internet protocol-based technologies such as IPTV, next generation networks and broadband. UTStarcom on Monday appointed Peter Blackmore as the new Chief Executive Officer, with effect from July 1, succeeding Hong Liang Lu, who will become the company’s executive chairman of the board.