Microsoft buys Nokia's mobile business Microsoft has announced it is buying Nokia's mobile devices and services business. Revealed in a flurry of press releases in the small hours of Tuesday, the deal will see Microsoft “pay EUR 3.79 billion to purchase substantially all of Nokia’s Devices & Services business, and EUR 1.65 billion to license Nokia’s patents, for a …
DUH! Look it up on various tech-sites. Various projects canceled by Nokia, Nokia phone market share shrinking, etc.
This is not really a shock... we kind of forgot about it. Nokia was already working on tablets too, so we will see how that pans out. So do they still remain as "Nokia Phones" or become "Microsoft Phones"??
I see HTC and Samsung (pretty much the only WP makers besides Nokia) dropping WP all together. They don't need MS. They don't need to pay for the privilege. They'll go after MS more so, if any thing. The big difference between Android and WP for other phone makers is that they can do pretty much what they want and not pay for it... compared to WP.
For the most part... as long as MS is in 3rd place, they will be somewhat happy. Blackberry will continue to go down, even thou they do make very good phones.
"The minute MS do anything with their patents against HTC or Samsung I'm quite sure that they'll drop winphones from their product range"
But MS don't need to care anymore. They can make better handsets, and if that fails, simple throw money at the problem until they become market leader...
Microsoft owns the lumia brand. Any current Nokia phones will remain to be called Nokia phones.
Any featurephones can be called Nokia Asha phones.
Any new phones will be called Microsoft Lumia or whatever Microsoft wants to call them. They just can't use Nokia on *new* smartphones.
"Any featurephones can be called Nokia Asha phones."
How much do you want to bet that the entire dumb handset and feature phone business gets offloaded to Lenovo or some Asian combine. I cannot imagine why Steve B. would have any interest in manufacturing these devices. MS is not going to become a phone manufacturer. They just want to be in the Smartphone business where they think they can be like Apple and make a squillion dollars.
Expect 70% of the acquition to be on the block immediately the deal is signed.
There's no need for a conspiracy. Mergers and acquisition talks are only panned to the public if there's a completing reason to do so, usually an attempt to manipulate the final price. Since this has obviously been in negotiation for a long time apparently everyone involved was happy with the price.
Honestly, I can't help but think some of them will launch a lawsuit. I mean in the article is basically says "We won't get a better offer any time soon" and considering how much more Nokia was worth before all this, well...
Not only that but this is kind've "out of the blue" I mean we all know Microsoft was going to buy them, I think Balmer wanted to wait for the value to drop further, but with his departure had to accelerate plans. But that means there was no real bidding etc for their shit. So at the same time I can't help but think some other big company (Samsung / Google etc) may step in and complain that they were never given a shot to bid on Nokia, which would get them the value they deserve.
Because lets face it, as dead as Nokia phones are right now, their patent trove is ripe for the picking. And I can see google wanting those patents to bolster Android. Even moreso if it's a shot in the kneecaps to Microsoft. 5.44 billion euro? Google spent more than double that on motorolla, and I can see them, if they get the opportunity, placing an equally high bid on nokia were they given the chance.
That unit of measure is known as a "By Thursday Lunchtime" in Android speak.
The actual deal won't go through until next year due to competition checks and due diligence etc... There is nothing stopping any other company putting in a hostile takeover bid, they could force a shareholder vote on a sale to a different company for more money. So this does not preclude that from happening.
Yep - this is great for Microsoft - they can make $40 per phone now instead of $10 via Nokia. And be a true one stop shop like Apple.
It's good for Nokia too - they were taking a long time to turn around the mobile business - and while they were forecast to return to profit next quarter thanks to Lumia sales growing at over 30% a quarter, I think they will make more money out of NSN and their mapping and patents divisions...
Haha tin foil hats ahoy!
Now while I would agree that yes it did look suspicious when Elop first moved to Nokia, let's get one fact straight - Nokia was already in the shitter BEFORE Elop came aboard. Remember the disaster that was the N97 and all subsequent touch-screen Symbian mobiles? That was all Nokia's fault. I had the Nokia N97 - Symbian on it was AWFUL.
Nokia only have themselves to blame by producing such rubbish that they made themselves incredibly vulnerable to a takeover, one that is finally completed now.
You really think Nokia could switch to another OS this late in the day?
Nokia can't just stop selling Windows Phones and then wait 12-18 months to start selling phones with Android or some post-Symbian OS. The transition to Windows Phone resulted in a huge loss due to end of line products and waiting for the new ones to pick up sales.
If you really wanted to see Nokia move on from Windows Phone then you're seeing it happen. Nokia could now acquire a small phone start up and get back in the game. Jolla would be an option:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22599877
Of course Nokia is focussing on mapping now and the recent announcement about getting their maps into cars shows were Nokia is heading. They are moving into being more of a technology and infrastructure company than a consumer products company. Lets not forget that Nokia has existed since 1865 when they produced electricity infrastructure products.
"So now we know why Elop was infiltrated into Nokia."
We knew it as soon as the burning platforms memo came out. Just look at the wreckage of companies he's left behind on his CV.
There's hope that what remains of Nokia brings back the people on the liferaft. They've still got the rights to use their patents, shame they have to start from scratch with manufacturing though.
...DROVE NOKIA'S VALUE TO THE GROUND by killing its entire Symbian, MeeGo etc business with ONE STUPID SENTENCE, A YEAR BEFORE ITS FIRST WP phone was due.
Aside of giving one percent chance for a WP breakthrough it was ALWAYS THE BALLMERIAN PLAN, to drive Nokia to the grounf thus dragging down the price and PICKING UP ITS EXCELLENT HARDWARE & DISTRIBUTION for next to nothing.
Ballmer's last revenge, NOKIA! :D
This incompetent, clueless, fat bald clown with anger issues never knew how to play any part of this mobile game, as a real beancounter at heart with no clue about technology he only knows one solution for everything: acquisition... and boy, the chair-throwing gorilla is one helluva guy at that, burning through so much money without ANYTHING to show I'd be actually surprised Nokia would be still around in 2-3 years.
Good bye, NOKIA and thanks for all the great phones beginning with my first GSM phone, a mighty 2110 around 1994-95.
I thought the Greeks had sailed home without bothering to loot the smoking ruins of Troy.
I expected this news six months ago, but thought its time had passed. Elop has done such a thorough job of burning Nokia and Ballmer poisoned carrier relations so badly that I expected Microsoft to leave Elop on his burning platform.
The Greeks were totally incompetent. They wrecked a competing commercial society, and then suffered a variety of misfortunes. Timeo danaos et dona ferentes? Just "Fear the Greeks" would have been enough.
On this reading, Elop is going to have to be very careful on his way from Finland to Redmond. He needs to watch out for the Sirens (dodgy websites?), women who turn men into pigs (Yahoo boss?), and one eyed giants with a lot of sheep (Apple?). And when he gets back, he's going to have to terminate the contractors at Redmond and a lot of the staff. When he gets there he'll find product development being carried out all day and then cancelled at night.
Homeric parallels. Perhaps cancelling Meego was bashing Astyanyx's brains out. But, on this reading, Jolla is eventually going to grow into a mighty empire, return, and Microsoft will end up as their slaves and entertainers. Best not to push it too far.
Before the event? Plenty of people wont have seen it coming. After the event everyone will have and always did. Human nature.
Though you have to admit, many around here have been expecting something like this ever since Nokia (Elop) mothballed their in-house software development efforts, and some even before that.
Now paid analysts, I'm sure all of them will have always known this would come, starting today.
Didn't he arrive as part of a deal that saw Nokia get a cool billion from m$
Up to a point, Lord Copper ...
Elop got the job at Nokia and then helped to make that deal with his old bosses in Redmond. That may always have been part of the plan, but the deal was made after Elop got the job.
Of course, a Gigabuck was cheap for access to Nokia's patent portfolio. Forcing Nokia to use MS's phone OS was just adding injury to insult.
"Nokia hired Elop, there is no possible way Nokia could be forced to hire someone they didn't want."
Elop *was* forced on Nokia, if rumours are to be believed. The chairman of the board, wunderkind Jorma Ollila, had already picked another candidate, but at the last minute, a team of American investors started throwing their weight around, insisting that a non-European be picked. Be that as it may, the biggest shareholder value destruction in history followed, with Elop presiding.
http://www.electronista.com/articles/11/01/26/nokia.may.have.picked.elop.as.ceo.under.pressure/
The big question is, will Elop preside over an even bigger value destruction as the next CEO of Microsoft?
" Jun 20, 2013 ... Acquisition talks between Microsoft and Nokia recently broke down with no plans to revive them." - www.informationweek.com/ mobility/ smart-phones/ microsoft-doesnt-buy-nokia-good-news/ 240157016
And now the deal is done less than 2 months later... I guess Lenovo's talks with Nokia spooked them into it.
The Register 
Biting the hand that feeds IT
Copyright. All rights reserved © 1998–2024
