It’s the dawn of a new era as Microsoft finally acquired Nokia smartphones and mobile phone businesses thus putting an end to Nokia’s era as a mobile phone manufacturer.
Microsoft completed a deal to buy the Finnish firm’s troubled device division in a $7.5bn (£4.46bn) deal which also include its design team, most of its manufacturing and assembly facilities and operations, and sales and marketing support.
The closure of the deal ends the production of mobile phones by the Finnish company, which had led the field for more than a decade.
It peaked with 40% global market share in 2008. Nokia says it will now focus on networks, mapping services and technology development and licences.
More details of its future plans will be given when it releases first-quarter earnings on April 29.
Microsoft will acquire 25,000 Nokia employees in 50 countries.
More than 4,000 employees in Finland will transfer to Microsoft, and Nokia’s headquarters Helsinki will be taken over.
Nokia’s share price was up more than 1.5% in afternoon trading in Helsinki.
Stephen Elop, former Nokia CEO turned Microsoft executive, said: “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.”
The two companies have previously worked together on the Lumia line of phones.
