Microsoft Acquires Nokia Devices and Services Business, Heralds New Chapter for the Finnish Giant

I've been a tech blogger for around 6 years now and I've been very fortunate to have witnessed a lot of tech milestones - from the unveiling of the iPhone 4 and iPad to the rise of Samsung as the world's top smartphone manufacturer. This, TP Friends, is right up there with those events in terms of impact and shock-value.

Today, both Microsoft Corporation and Nokia officially announced that the world's leading software company is now in the process of acquiring the Finnish giant's devices and services business. The disclosure was formally made via this open letter from Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, and Stephen Elop, Nokia CEO;

Nokia and Microsoft have always dreamed big – we dreamed of putting a computer on every desk, and a mobile phone in every pocket, and we’ve come a long way toward realizing those dreams.
Today marks a moment of reinvention.

Nokia has an identity spanning 150 years of heritage, innovation, excellence, and change which began and will continue in Finland, as well as around the world. From humble beginnings as a paper mill, to manufacturing rubber boots and car tires, and then to mobile phones, reinvention is in Nokia’s blood.

Now Nokia will write its next chapter, focused on enabling mobility through its leadership in networking, mapping & location, and advanced technologies.

For Microsoft as well, today is a bold step into the future, a huge leap forward on our journey of creating a family of devices and services that delight people and empower businesses of all sizes.

Our partnership over the past two and a half years, which combined our respective strengths to build a new global mobile ecosystem, has created incredible results: award-winning phones and amazing services that have made Nokia Windows Phones the fastest-growing smartphones in the world.

Building on this successful partnership, we announced some important news today: an agreement for Microsoft to purchase Nokia’s Devices & Services business, to deliver more choices, faster innovation, and even more exciting devices and services to our customers.

Today’s agreement will accelerate the momentum of Nokia’s devices and services, bringing the world’s most innovative smartphones to more people, while continuing to connect the next billion people with Nokia’s mobile phone portfolio.

With the commitment and resources of Microsoft to take Nokia’s devices and services forward, we can now realize the full potential of the Windows ecosystem, providing the most compelling experiences for people at home, at work and everywhere in between.

We will continue to build the mobile phones you’ve come to love, while investing in the future – new phones and services that combine the best of Microsoft and the best of Nokia.

Nokia and Microsoft are committed to the next chapter.

Together, we will redefine the boundaries of mobility.

Steve & Stephen

According to sources inside both companies, the total sum of the transaction is 5.44 Billion Euros, which Microsoft will pay in cash. Nokia will get 3.79 Billion Euros in exchange for its Devices and Services business and Microsoft will even pay an extra 1.65 Billion Euros for a 10-year non-exclusive license to use Nokia's existing patents. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2014, subject to approval by Nokia shareholders, regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

This is bitter-sweet for me, TP Friends. It's no secret to all of you that I love Nokia. I love Nokia not only because I deeply believe in their products and services but also because the Finnish company believed in me when I was but blogging in my bedroom unsure of what he future holds for TechPinas. Nokia was the first company to invite me to a tech event and to bring me outside the country for their conferences. It's sad that the spirited company that I deeply love will now be - practically - just a subsidiary or an arm of another company.

Nonetheless, I'm sure that this acquisition will herald a new era or chapter for the Finnish giant -- one where, I'm confident, they'll release the best devices they'll ever make. I look forward to more cameraphones that set the standard in mobile imaging, more handsets and tablets with stunning designs, and amazing innovations that we haven't seen before. Personally, regardless of what happens, I will continue to support Nokia just like how the company has been consistently supportive of me and TechPinas through all these years.