Microsoft has decided to purchase a mobile division of Nokia for 5.4 billion euros. In addition, as a result of the transaction, Microsoft will receive Nokia licenses for patents and navigation services.
In a press release held jointly by two Steves - Nokia CEO Stephen Elop and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer - it was announced that the decision to close the transaction was made at a meeting on November 19, 2013, held in the Finnish capital, during which 99.7% Microsoft investors voted to acquire Nokia, the manufacturer of mobile phones. The transaction itself will be completed in early 2014, when 32,000 Nokia employees will be transferred to the staff of Microsoft.
At the Helsinki meeting held today, 99.7 percent of almost five thousand large investors cast their votes for the acquisition of Nokia’s mobile division. It will move to Redmond and continue working on smartphones and mobile phones.
The reason for such a move, obviously, was the fact that Nokia in recent years was no longer able to compete with such tech giants such as Samsung and Apple that were rapidly capturing all the niches of the mobile gadget market. Well, Microsoft decided to enter the mobile market so late, to put it mildly.
“This is a daring step into the future and a win for our employees, shareholders and consumers of products from both companies,” said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. At the moment, the completion of the transaction is preceded by a stage of approval by its regulatory bodies and Nokia shareholders, bbc.co.uk reports.
In general, the sudden consumer boom on smartphones and tablets has recently become a complete surprise for Microsoft, as it has been a leader for quite a long time in the segment of portable and desktop personal computers. And the company reacted very slowly to the very actively developing new market conditions due to changing consumer preferences. And even last year’s attempt by Microsoft to release its own tablet computer, the Surface, failed to induce the buyer to “change the benchmark.”
According to experts, the purchase of Nokia’s mobile division for Microsoft is a stage in the search for the optimal strategy to increase its own share in the mobile device market.
“Mobile technology has great potential, but in Microsoft this area has been poorly developed. Of course, the main priority for the company is to adjust the strategy in the mobile market. Therefore, from a strategic point of view, this transaction is an excellent step. And the only question that remains is the prospect of the implementation of this strategy, ”notes the expert of the consulting company Frost & Sullivan, Manoj Menon.
Sales of Nokia, which at one time occupied the leading position in the global mobile market, decreased by 24% in the second quarter of 2013 compared to the same period of last year. Although the sales of Lumia smartphones under the Windows Phone operating system grew slightly during this period. According to Menon, the merger of the two companies will help improve the compatibility of the hardware component of future devices and software.
By the way, Microsoft, in the framework of the forthcoming transaction, has pledged to produce mobile phones over the next 10 years under the Nokia brand.
The article is based on materials .
Comments
Post a Comment