The Internet security wing of telecommunication equipment maker Nokia Corp. announced Thursday it has signed a two-year license and reseller agreement with U.S.-based switch maker F5 Networks Inc.

The Internet security wing of telecommunication equipment maker Nokia Corp. announced Thursday it has signed a two-year license and reseller agreement with U.S.-based switch maker F5 Networks Inc., a deal that includes Nokia's purchasing a 9.9 percent stake of unregistered common stock in F5 Networks. Under the terms of the deal, the companies will strategically align their products, channels, technology offerings and development activities, Nokia and F5 Networks said in a joint conference call Thursday. In addition, Nokia will focus its efforts on licensing and reselling the current line of F5 Networks' Internet traffic and content management products, the companies said. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Nokia entered the Internet content management space only recently, and sought a partner in the U.S. with ties to Asia to complement Nokia's strength in Europe. The companies will also look into jointly developing new firewall, VPN (virtual private network) and server farm load balancing technologies for both wired and mobile networks over the next few months, Nokia and F5 Networks said. Along with the F5 Network stock share that Nokia has agreed to buy, the Finland-based company also has the option to purchase an additional 10 percent of F5 Network common stock and can nominate a representative to F5 Network's board of directors, Nokia and F5 Networks said. The statement follows an earlier announcement from Nokia on Thursday, saying it intends to shed up to 1,000 jobs from its infrastructure division Nokia Networks.