Done deal!
Nokia announced Friday that it had completed the sale of its mobile phone and smartphone businesses to Microsoft in a deal that was announced last September.
Microsoft will continue to support phones like the Asha and Nokia X, as well as non windows smartphones.
“Today we welcome the Nokia Devices and Services business to our family. The mobile capabilities and assets they bring will advance our transformation. Together with our partners, we remain focused on delivering innovation more rapidly in our mobile-first, cloud-first world.” said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella
“The opportunity for Microsoft to be both a devices and services company, so that it can deliver the complete proposition to its consumers, is at the heart of this,” said Stephen Elop, former Nokia CEO and now executive vice president of the Devices Group at Microsoft.
Microsoft will pay €3.79 billion for Nokia’s phone making business and another €1.65 billion to license its patents, totalling around €5.44 billion (around $7.2 billion).
Microsoft has bought the devices and services part of Nokia’s business, which will now to be known as Microsoft Mobile. Microsoft also said that “any further decisions regarding specific branding will be made further down the road as part of the future integration.”
Press release:
Nokia completes sale of substantially all of its Devices & Services business to Microsoft
Nokia Corporation
Stock exchange release
April 25, 2014 at 13.55 (CET +1)
Espoo, Finland – Nokia today announced that it has completed the sale of substantially all of its Devices & Services business to Microsoft.
The transaction, which also includes an agreement to license patents to Microsoft, was originally announced on September 3, 2013.
As earlier communicated, the transaction was subject to potential purchase price adjustments. The estimate of the adjustments made for net working capital and cash earnings was slightly positive for Nokia, and we currently expect the total transaction price to be slightly higher than the earlier-announced transaction price of EUR 5.44 billion after the final adjustments are made based on the verified closing balance sheet.
Additionally, as is customary for transactions of this size, scale and complexity, Nokia and Microsoft made certain adjustments to the scope of the assets originally planned to transfer. These adjustments included Nokia’s manufacturing facilities in Chennai in India and Masan in the Republic of Korea not transferring to Microsoft. These adjustments have no impact on the material deal terms of the transaction and Nokia will be materially compensated for any retained liabilities.
In India, our manufacturing facility is subject to an asset freeze by the Indian tax authorities as a result of ongoing tax proceedings. Consequently, the facility remains part of Nokia following the closing of the transaction. Nokia and Microsoft have entered into a service agreement whereby Nokia would produce mobile devices for Microsoft.
In Korea, Nokia and Microsoft agreed to exclude the Masan facility from the scope of the transaction. Nokia will now take steps to close the facility, which employs approximately 200 people.
Amid the uncertainty for our employees in Chennai and because of the planned closure of our facility in Masan, Nokia plans to offer a program of support, including financial assistance which would give our employees the chance to explore opportunities outside Nokia starting from a sound financial base. The company plans to bring to Chennai and Masan elements of its Bridge program, which we have made available for employees affected by company changes in other sites.
The convertible bonds issued by Nokia to Microsoft following the announcement of the transaction have been redeemed and netted against the deal proceeds by the amount of principal and accrued interest.
As previously announced, the following Nokia leaders have stepped down from the Nokia Leadership Team and transferred to Microsoft at closing, effective April 25, 2014: Stephen Elop, Jo Harlow, Juha Putkiranta, Timo Toikkanen, and Chris Weber. Until further notice, Nokia’s interim governance model announced on September 3, 2013 is in place.
Nokia plans to cover in further detail aspects of the closing of the transaction in conjunction with its first quarter 2014 results announcement on April 29, 2014.
Now that the closing of this transaction has taken place, Nokia is arranging a Board of Directors meeting for early next week in relation to its strategy assessment which was originally disclosed on September 3, 2013.
