Nokia Shareholders Have Approved Sale To Microsoft

The world marked its calendars for November 19th when it was first announced that Microsoft has agreed to acquire Nokia’s phone business for $7.17 billion. The Finnish manufacturer’s shareholders were to vote on this deal today, and they have done so in favor of the deal with overwhelming majority. 99.7 percent of the votes have returned in favor of Nokia’s phone business being sold to Microsoft, which means that Redmond now has the all clear, at least from Nokia. While some shareholders might have been upset that the iconic Finnish manufacturer will no longer slap its name on devices, that didn’t tilt the vote against the deal in any major way.

As a result of this deal, ex Nokia CEO Stephen Elop will now head back to Redmond where he will take charge as the head of the devices and services team. His name has been rumored to be in the running for the CEO slot at Microsoft, so it remains to be see if he ultimately becomes Ballmer’s replacement. Microsoft gets to keep the Asha and Lumia brands, though it remains to be seen how the company integrates them with its own branding strategies. Ballmer has already said that they could go with shorter device names, but at this point in time, nothing has been said about future devices. Microsoft looks to close the transaction by Q1, 2014.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: General
Tags: Microsoft, Nokia