Here’s something that will never happen: Elcoteq buying Nokia’s handset manufacturing operations.

Regardless of whether Nokia would sell its production facilities — and it wouldn’t be a complete surprise if it did — Elcoteq won’t be the buyer. The EMS firm has neither the capital nor the inclination. Not only has Nokia pulled in most of its assembly from Elcoteq, but the latter made clear to this reporter earlier this month that it plans to focus on building its industrial electronics business. Moreover, the EMS firm has been scrounging up investments for much-needed operations funding. With the price tag for Nokia’s handset plants (and its ongoing assembly business, no doubt) likely in the hundreds of millions, if not $1 billion or more, Elcoteq simply lacks the funds — and capacity to raise them — to pull this off.