Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Nokia's Devices & Services division has been making steady progress toward completion in recent months, including earning approval from both the U.S. Department of Justice and the European Commission. It's been expected that the deal will reach completion before the end of the first quarter of 2014, and today Nokia announced that that's still the case.
Nokia is currently involved in some tax-related hullabaloo in India, and apparently some concern has been raised that those issues could have an effect on its acquisition by Microsoft. Nokia says that that's not going to happen, though, saying that the transaction is still expected to close in the first quarter of 2014.
Microsoft announced back in early September that it had agreed to acquire Nokia's Devices & Services division for a total of approximately $7.2 billion. The deal includes licenses for Nokia's patents and its mapping services in addition to the Finnish firm's hardware unit. It'll definitely be interesting to watch the Windows Phone space after this deal closes, not only because Microsoft is acquiring the platform's biggest contributor, but also because I want to see how other Windows Phone device makers react to the transaction once it's done.
What do you think of Microsoft's acquisition of Nokia's Devices & Services division? Do you anticipate that other manufacturers like HTC, Samsung and Huawei continue to crank out Windows Phone hardware once the deal is complete?
Via Nokia
