Nokia Oyj said on Monday it was in advanced talks to sell its security appliances business to a financial investor, while it would halt its corporate software development.

The measures will affect around 700 staff in total, with almost 500 working for the "profitable" security appliances unit.

Niklas Savander, head of Nokia's services and software business, told Reuters the company expects to close the sale of the unit - which offers products such as firewalls and virtual private networks (VPNs) - within a few weeks.

Nokia will focus on developing and selling corporate phones, while partnering with the likes of Microsoft, IBM and Cisco on a wider offering for companies.

After the deal is closed, Nokia's new Services and Software unit will be focused on consumer offerings.

"We believe that with a narrower agenda we can make a bigger impact," Savander said.-Reuters