Microsoft to buy Nokia's mobile phone unit
Microsoft has agreed to buy Nokia's mobile phone business for 5.4
billion euros ($7.2 billion; £4.6 billion). Nokia will also license its
patents and mapping services to Microsoft.
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A Microsoft and Nokia official at the media briefing. |
Nokia shares jumped 45% on news of the deal.
The purchase is set to be completed in early 2014, when about 32,000
Nokia employees will transfer to Microsoft. While Nokia has struggled
against competition from Samsung and Apple, Microsoft has been
criticised for being slow into the mobile market.
"It's a bold step into the future - a win-win for employees,
shareholders and consumers of both companies," chief executive of
Microsoft, Steve Ballmer said in a statement to the media.
The transaction is subject to approval by Nokia shareholders and
regulators. Microsoft, one of the biggest names in the technology
sector, has struggled as consumers have shunned traditional PCs and
laptops in favour of smartphones and tablet PCs.
Critics say the firm has been too slow to respond to the booming
market for mobile devices. It launched its Surface tablet PCs last year,
but sales of the devices have been relatively slow. Analysts said that
the company wanted to make sure that it got its strategy right in the
mobile phone market.
BBC
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