Nokia is seriously looking into a potential sale of assets and even mergers as intense competition deals a heavy blow on the company's earnings, Bloomberg News bared on Wednesday, citing sources with knowledge of the company's plans.

The Finnish telecom equipment manufacturer has tapped the services of experts to analyze its next moves, sources disclosed. Nokia did not respond to request for comment, and Bloomberg said the company's efforts may not result in any transactions.

Nokia's other plan of action includes shifting investments and revising its balance ledgers as deliberations are ongoing, the sources said. A representative for the Espoo, Finland-headquartered telco declined to comment.

Nokia, which competes with Huawei and Ericsson for 5G network infrastructure, announced earlier that it expects strong competition to continue in the market in the coming months, as rivals work aggressively to dominate the market.

5G networks are at the core of an ongoing technology dispute between China and the United States, as the networks are seen to provide crucial capabilities including autonomous cars, smart power plants, and defense communications.

A Bloomberg report postulates about the possibility of a consolidation between Ericsson and Nokia. However, the article did not specify that there are talks between the two firms about such a deal. It pointed out that a combination between Ericsson and Nokia would be difficult to establish considering all the regulatory agencies in the United Kingdom that would be involved.

Shares of Nokia have plunged approximately 70 percent of their market value in the past four quarters before news of its asset sale and merger. Nokia's American depositary receipts were up as much as 14 percent on Wednesday. The ADRs settled 6.2 percent to $4.15 on Wall Street, giving the telco a market price of around $23.5 billion.

Earlier this month, US Attorney General William Barr said the US and its allies should look into investing in Ericsson and Nokia to parry Huawei's rising influence in 5G innovation. Nokia's US-listed stocks rose around 9 percent in mid-day trading.

The Bloomberg story also came out just weeks after Nokia cautioned capitalists that it would not finalize its shift to more profitable 5G networks until 2022. Nokia's chief executive officer acknowledged that the company shed a huge market share last year and claimed around 26 percent of 4G and 5G radio networks outside China by the end of 2019.

However, Nokia's objective now is to finish 2020 with the same share of business and the telco has vowed to provide updated information on this new performance barometer in all its quarterly earnings report in the coming months.