Tech giant Microsoft is in the final stage of acquiring Nokia’s handset business in a deal worth $7bn, which will be completed by 25 April.
In a statement issued by Microsoft, the company said: "This acquisition will help… accelerate innovation and market adoption for Windows Phones, while also introducing the next billion customers to Microsoft services via Nokia mobile phones."
As part of the deal, Nokia will focus primarily on making telecom equipment and continue as a separate company while its engineering talent would be utilised by Microsoft to make its own smartphones and tablets.
Microsoft will also manage the nokia.com website and the brand’s social media sites for at least a year.
A joint email has already been sent to Nokia account holders by both the companies.
The entire acquisition process has taken several months to complete, and surfaces as Microsoft transitions from a traditional software company to an upscale device- and services-oriented brand.
While the jury is still out on the potential impact of the acquisition on the prospects of Windows Phone, industry analysts believe that Nokia has some hard-earned lessons up its sleeve, which could help Microsoft to take the business to its former glory.
Earlier in March, the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China approved Nokia’s €5.4bn sale of its Devices & Services division to Microsoft, without requiring it to modify its key technology patent practises.
Google and Samsung previously voiced concern before Chinese regulators that Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia’s phone business could increase licensing fees on Nokia’s patents.
Both tech companies asked China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) to ensure that the $7.2bn deal would result in increased fees on wireless technology patents owned by the Finnish mobile firm.
