Microsoft Nokia Deal Closes April 25th

Back in September last year Nokia announced that it is going to sell its devices and services business to Microsoft for north of $7 billion. A multinational deal of this scale requires regulatory approval, provided that the company’s shareholders don’t vote against it. Nokia’s shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favor of the deal, which then received the aforementioned approval. Microsoft previously said that it expected to close the deal this month and today it has confirmed that the deal closes on Friday, April 25th, 2014.

The announcement comes following revelation that Nokia’s phone business will be called Microsoft Mobile once the deal is closed. The original deal between Microsoft and Nokia didn’t address management of online assets. Both companies have agreed that Microsoft is going to manage Nokia.com doman as well as social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter for “up to a year.”

The deal has also been adjusted to bring 21 Nokia employees in China working on mobile phones to Microsoft, where they’ll continue their work. The biggest adjustment made in the deal is that Nokia’s Korean manufacturing facility, which would have gone to Microsoft, will now not be acquired by Redmond.

It is unclear right now if Microsoft will immediately stop using Nokia branding for smartphone after the deal closes. Presumably it may want to stick with the existing branding for some time to ensure that there’s a smooth transition.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: Cellphones
Tags: Microsoft, Nokia