Nokia HERE Maps Business Might Be Sold

Nokia is reportedly considering a possible sale of its HERE Maps business so that it can focus more on its wireless-network unit, this according to a new report, which claims that the company might take this step to improve its debt rating. The company has reportedly reached out to some potential buyers such as private equity firms and even ridesharing service Uber Technologies, which relies heavily on a mapping service.

This won’t be the only major business unit that Nokia has offloaded. Who can forget Nokia’s hardware business, which made some of the most iconic handsets for decades and was once dominant in the market, and was later sold to Microsoft for around $7 billion.

Bloomberg’s report claims that aside from the aforementioned potential buyers, several German carmakers have also shown interest in purchasing the Here Maps business. Bids might start rolling in this month.

As per Nokia’s own financial reports the Here unit is valued at around $2.1 billion. If it doesn’t receive a bid that it feels is sufficient for this business unit, Nokia might decide against selling Here Maps.

It is also expected that if Here is sold then some of the proceeds could be used for acquisitions to further improve Nokia’s network business, a possible takeover of Alcatel-Lucent SA might also be on the cards if a deal goes through.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: General
Tags: Nokia, Nokia HERE