Microsoft buys Nokia’s phone division as Steve Ballmer plans his exit – The Verge

Nokia says its sale to Microsoft will close on April 25th

2014-04-21T10:18:16-04:00

Nokia expects Microsoft to finally take control of its devices division on April 25th, the company announced today. The $7.2 billion deal - first announced in September of last year - will see Nokia sell "substantially all of its Devices and Services business to Microsoft." Nokia's latest update says that "certain customary closing conditions" are all that stands in the way of the acquisition being finalized. That suggests antitrust authorities in Asia have signed off on the deal after holding things up last month, forcing Microsoft and Nokia to push back their estimated closing date.

"This acquisition will help Microsoft accelerate innovat …

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Microsoft and Nokia now expect buyout to close in April

2014-03-24T02:31:20-04:00

Nokia and Microsoft have announced that their $7.2 billion buyout deal won't be closing this month after all. The Finnish smartphone manufacturer now expects to complete the sale of its devices and services divisions to Microsoft by the end of April, rather than the end of March insisted upon as recently as last month.

Nokia says it's still waiting on regulatory approval from antitrust authorities in Asia; the deal has already received the green light from the US Justice Department and the European Commission. Once the buyout goes through, Microsoft will use its new acquisition to design its own smartphones, rather than relying on Nokia to …

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Microsoft’s purchase of Nokia is still set to close by the end of March

2014-02-14T13:45:58-05:00

It's been almost six months since Microsoft announced its intention to purchase Nokia for $7.2 billion, and today the phone manufacturer reiterated its intention to have the sale complete before this quarter ends. In a press release today, Nokia stressed that an ongoing tax dispute in India over one of the company's factories wouldn't affect the closing of Microsoft's intended purchase.

This statement of confidence comes just a few days after it was revealed that Nokia was petitioning the Indian Supreme Court to reverse a ruling that was initially expected to complicate the deal - however, Nokia has been quick to reiterate that the deal is …

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Microsoft’s Nokia deal approved by European Commission

2013-12-04T13:06:12-05:00

The European Union has cleared Microsoft's deal to purchase Nokia's Devices and Services unit. In a statement released today, the Commission notes that the "overlap of the two companies' activities in this area is minimal and several strong rivals, such as Samsung and Apple will continue to compete with the merged entity."

Microsoft quickly applauded the move. As a Microsoft spokesperson told The Verge: "We look forward to the date when our partners at Nokia will become members of the Microsoft family, and are pleased that the European Commission has cleared the deal without conditions." The European approval comes just days after the US Depar …

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Microsoft’s Nokia deal approved by US Justice Department

2013-12-02T12:47:57-05:00

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have signed off on a $7.2 billion deal allowing Microsoft to purchase Nokia's Devices and Services unit. Shareholders of the Finnish smartphone maker recently approved the deal, which will allow Microsoft to ship its own Windows Phones with or without the Lumia branding, and today the FTC has granted early termination on the deal. "We look forward to the date when our partners at Nokia will become members of the Microsoft family, and are pleased that the Department of Justice has cleared the deal unconditionally," says a Microsoft spokesperson in a statement to The Verge.

An …

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Microsoft asked HTC to put Windows Phone on its Android phones, says report

2013-10-03T22:47:25-04:00

HTC 8X Hero

With Microsoft's Nokia acquisition raising questions over the future of third-party Windows Phone devices, Redmond has its work cut out convincing OEMs to continue to license its struggling software - and a report from Bloomberg News suggests that the software giant may have gone to extremes. According to the report, Microsoft last month asked HTC to install Windows Phone as a "separate option" on Android handsets, and offered to "cut or eliminate" the license fee as an incentive.

Redmond reportedly offered to "cut or eliminate" license fee

The talks are said to be in the preliminary stages, and the exact mechanics haven't been worked out. Th …

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Stephen Elop refused Nokia pleas to take smaller payout, says report

2013-09-25T03:17:10-04:00

Stephen Elop Nokia CEO stock

The topic of CEO compensation is a thorny one around the world, but it's of most pressing interest in Finland right now, where an entire nation is reeling from the loss of its most iconic business. Many in the country, including its prime minister, find it unconscionable that Stephen Elop - the Canadian boss who led Nokia right up until the sale of its phone division to Microsoft earlier this month - is receiving a final payout of $25 million for his efforts. The sale in itself, rightly or wrongly, is perceived as a betrayal by Elop, so the lump sum payment he's now entitled to feels like adding insult to injury.

Cognizant of that precariou …

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Nokia’s Stephen Elop to make more than $25 million for jumping to Microsoft

2013-09-19T13:32:26-04:00

Elop event recap

Earlier this month Microsoft announced that it would be buying the phone division of Nokia for $7.2 billion. A leadership shuffle at Nokia was part of that, with the company's now-former CEO Stephen Elop heading to Redmond after the close of the deal - and as The New York Times points out he'll be making more than $25 million for taking the leap.

Elop stepped down as CEO and president of Nokia for a role as executive vice-president, but he'll be staying with the company until the deal itself finally closes. His contract with Nokia guaranteed him slightly different payouts depending on the circumstances of his departure from the company. An …

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Nokia was testing Android on Lumias before Microsoft sale

2013-09-13T16:21:10-04:00

Nokia Lumia 920 Windows Phone 8 stock front

Before Nokia bet its smartphone ambitions on Windows Phone, the idea of an Android-powered Nokia device was not so hard to believe. Now, according to a new report from The New York Times, it turns out Nokia engineers did develop Lumia phones that ran Google's Android operating system. The report, which cites people familiar with the matter, says that Android was running on Nokia smartphones internally "well before" discussions that led to Microsoft's purchase of the company's handset division, which suggests that such efforts may have taken place in 2012 or early 2013. Additionally, it's said that while Microsoft knew about the project - and …

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Nokia kept secrets from Microsoft over its Windows Phone plans

2013-09-07T07:26:29-04:00

Stephen Elop and his phones

Microsoft is spending $7.2 billion to acquire Nokia's devices and services unit in a move that's focused on the company's "One Microsoft" plan. Although the pair were already working closely on Windows Phone, it's clear there are some areas that could be improved. In an interview with CNET, Joe Belfiore - the head of Windows Phone product definition and design - has revealed that Nokia kept secrets from Microsoft.

"There are real-world examples of situations where Nokia was building a phone and keeping information about it secret from us," says Belfiore. Microsoft would prioritize its own software plans, not knowing exactly what Nokia was plan …

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