The delay was caused by a "technical reason" a spokeswoman said, without elaborating.

The announcement is expected to include site closures and job cuts and could include seeking a partner for application processors.

ST-Ericsson, a 50-50 joint venture of Sweden's Ericsson and France's STMicroelectronics, is seen as a "strategic asset" for potential buyers such as Nvidia, Intel and Texas Instruments, sources familiar with the situation told Reuters last month.

In addition to modems, ST-Ericsson's strength, today's smartphones use application processors that function in the same manner as a central processing unit (CPU) on a computer, running software and graphics.

ST-Ericsson has lost $2 billion in its three years of operation as revenues from key clients Nokia and Sony Ericsson shrank 70 percent.

(Reporting by Tarmo Virki; editing by Jason Neely)

• A Permanent Economic Emergency