NEW YORK (AFP) - US credit ratings agency Moody's lifted the outlook for Motorola from negative to positive on Monday after the US mobile phone maker sold most of its networks infrastructure division to Nokia Siemens Networks.

• Nokia Siemens buys Motorola assets for $1.2 bln

"The change to a positive outlook reflects Motorola's improving credit profile as a result of the significant cash balances that Moody's expects the company will have following completion of the transaction," Moody's said.

It said the move also reflects "the progress that the company has made in stemming the cash losses in its mobile devices unit, and the increasing likelihood that the mobile devices separation will happen as scheduled."

Motorola plans to split into two separate companies next year, one focusing on handsets and the other on professional safety equipment.

Earlier Monday, Finnish-German giant Nokia Siemens Networks said it would buy most of Motorola's wireless networks infrastructure assets for 1.2 billion dollars (926 million euros).

Motorola enjoyed success with its popular Razr phone launched in 2005 but has been losing ground since then to Apple and Research in Motion, maker of the Blackberry, as well as to other major cellphone manufacturers such as Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson.

Motorola shares gained 5.60 percent on Wall Street on Monday to close at 7.92 dollars.