Nokia officially acquired by Microsoft

After weeks and months of rumors of reconciliation between Nokia and Microsoft, the information is finally official: Microsoft buys the "Devices & Services business of the Finnish manufacturer. Transaction Amount: $ 5.44 billion, including $ 1.65 billion in technology patent. At one year of departure of Steve Ballmer, all eyes are on the head of Nokia, Stephen Elop, formerly of Microsoft and favorite to take the lead group Redmond.

There is no smoke without fire. When a rumor is as insistent as that linked Microsoft and Nokia, it is not surprising that it proves true in the end. Microsoft buys so many Nokia. But not the entire company. Just the big public party. One that takes care of the development of mobile phones (including smartphones Lumia range), services and applications. For the rest, that is to say, the network equipment, no information has been provided. The amount indicated by the two parties for this acquisition amounted to $ 5.44 billion, a sum divided into two parts: $ 1.65 billion for the acquisition of technology patents and $ 3.79 billion for structure and teams (32, 000 employees.)Under the terms of the agreement, Stephen Elop will leave his post at the head of Nokia to joining Microsoft, like a handful of other top managers of the Finns. This leads us to think again about the successor to Steve Ballmer at the direction of Microsoft. Stephen Elop was already one of the favorites to take over this role. With this acquisition, it becomes almost obvious that the former head of the Windows division could play the role. The contract Ballmer ends in less than a year. It only remains to wait for the official announcements by then. now in the lap of Microsoft, smartphones, mobile phones, applications (Nokia Maps, Nokia Here, Nokia Music, etc..), Navteq (the one of the two cartographers in the world, the other is owned by TomTom Tele Atlas) and patents. It is clear that mobile phones Nokia Symbian, which still allow Nokia to claim second in the world of mobile telephony (before Apple and Samsung behind), not long interest to Microsoft.However, Navteq could be one of the elements of this surprises redemption: the mapping is one of the strengths of Nokia. Something that could be important to compete with Google and Android.Nokia Siemens Network is not part of this financial transaction. The former joint venture with Germany's Siemens, specializing in networking equipment, could grow alone, although most likely be a future acquisition by a specialized supplier (such as Ericsson, Huawei or ZTE.) This acquisition is a relentless logic and seems to be negotiated long. First, because Nokia becomes an innovative brand and takes market share lost to Apple and Samsung in particular. Nokia has taken its place as a leader in Finland, to Samsung. Windows Phone, with Nokia (which generates 80% of sales of Windows Phone), is one of the operating systems that the fastest growth between May and July, according to Kantar Worldpanel, particularly in Europe. Nokia has become the flagship of Microsoft's mobility. Second reason, the partnership between Microsoft and Nokia signed in 2011 included financial close billions of dollars in exchange for the exclusive use of Windows Phone in Nokia smartphones. Sign that this was not just a technology and marketing alliance, but a stake.Finally, Microsoft, through long email sent to all employees to present the group's restructuring, clearly explained that the company is headed for a range of products combining software and hardware. At the time, we assume that Steve Ballmer wanted to make new smartphones under its own brand, like Google with Nexus, becoming a competitor to its own partners, including Nokia. 's future now seems Nokia s' clear because Nokia was riddled with debt, despite financial situation improved significantly this year. However, two questions arise. First, how the Nokia brand will she continue in Microsoft? Nokia Will it have a destiny to Motorola? Or the Nokia brand will she disappear in favor of a "Lumia by Microsoft" in the image of Nexus for Google? The second question concerns the competition: how Microsoft will he manage relationships with HTC, Huawei, ZTE and Samsung? Because so far the Microsoft hardware initiatives have had little impact (Surface and Surface Pro were not of major commercial success). But with Nokia, the situation is quite different. When Google acquired Motorola, the American brand does not weigh heavy on the Android smartphone market. On the other hand, Nokia is ubiquitous on Windows Phone. Until now, manufacturers were reluctant to venture into Windows Phone because of the importance of Nokia.Now that it is part of Microsoft, some competitors may well permanently abandon the operating system.