Finland's Nokia buys back 150 million euros of March 2021 notes

(Reuters) - Finnish telecom equipment maker Nokia <NOKIA.HE> said on Thursday it would buy back 150 million euros ($162 million) of its March 2021 notes as it restructures its finances.

Nokia, which axed its dividend after a profit warning in October to preserve cash, is battling with China's Huawei [HWT.UL] and Sweden's Ericsson <ERICb.ST> in the race to build next-generation 5G networks.

"We are pleased to have pre-financed our 2021 and 2022 maturities in-line with our prudent capital structure management," Chief Financial Officer Kristian Pullola said in a statement.

He said Nokia was positioning the business well to continue to fund research and development needed in the industry.

Nokia said it accepted 66% of notes tendered and 350 million euros of its March 2021 notes would remain outstanding after settlement of the offer.

Barclays Bank, Citigroup Global Markets, Goldman Sachs International and Nordea Bank acted as joint dealer managers for the tender offer.

Last week Nokia issued two new euro-denominated fixed-rate notes, raising 1 billion euros in total.

(Reporting by Tarmo Virki; Editing by Edmund Blair)