Microsoft to Buy Nokia Mobile Phone Business for $7.2 Billion http://bit.ly/1eam0PD
Microsoft has agreed to buy Nokia’s mobile phone and services business for $7.2 billion in an effort to catch up in the booming mobile space, the companies said. The deal is expected to close in early 2014.
Global marketing will be integrated under two Microsoft executives — Tami Reller, exec VP-marketing, and Mark Penn, exec VP-advertising and strategy. Microsoft said it intends to license the Nokia brand to use with existing Nokia products but did not describe its plans for the name going forward. “It is very important that we pursue a unified brand strategy as soon as possible,” Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said in a statement.
At the companies’ announcement of the deal, Nokia’s chairman, Risto Siilasmaa, called the deal rationally clear but emotionally complicated. “Rationally it is clear that the smartphone market is undergoing fundamental change, and in this dynamic market Nokia has done great work in creating innovative products,” he said. “However, the industry is becoming a duopoly, with the leaders building significant financial momentum at a scale not seen before.”
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