Moto courted by Asian manufacturers in spin off deal?

The ongoing “will they, won’t they” saga of Motorola’s handset division spin-off has taken another turn today. According to Financial Times partner mergermarket.com, some companies have stepped forward to begin talks with Moto.

The site reports that “many leading Asian telecommunications equipment and device manufacturers” who have previously denied interest in taking over the unit but have since been “expressing interest in discussing some form of partnership”, quoting a source. It also said that any deal might be a complex one, following in the footsteps of joint ventures like Sony Ericsson or Nokia-Siemens Networks.

It’s a fascinating development, if it proves to be correct. Apparently ZTE and Sony Ericsson have already denied they’re interested and realistically, I can’t see Motorola’s handset unit really fitting in with either business. So who else could be courting Moto? All suggestions welcome.