Stephen Elop’s task on turning Nokia Mobile phones business to Microsoft compatible has come to end: Microsoft Corporation and Nokia Corporation today announced that the Boards of Directors for both companies have decided to enter into a transaction whereby Microsoft will purchase substantially all of Nokia’s Devices & Services business, license Nokia’s patents, and license and use Nokia’s mapping services.
Microsoft will pay EUR 3.79 billion to purchase substantially all of Nokia’s Devices & Services business, and EUR 1.65 billion to license Nokia’s patents with EUR 5.44 billion all-cash transaction. Under the terms of the agreement, Microsoft will acquire substantially all of Nokia’s Devices and Services business, including the Mobile Phones and Smart Devices business. Microsoft is acquiring Nokia’s Smart Devices business unit, including the Lumia brand and products. The deal includes, among other things, the Nokia Asha brand.
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. Microsoft has agreed to a 10 year license arrangement with Nokia to use the Nokia brand on current Mobile Phones products. Nokia will continue to own and maintain the Nokia brand.
Following the transaction, Nokia plans to focus on its three established businesses: NSN (network infrastructure and services), HERE (mapping and location services and Advanced Technologies (technology development and licensing).
Stephen Elop will be coming back to Microsoft, and he will lead an expanded Devices team, which includes all of our current Devices and Studios work and most of the teams coming over from Nokia. As part of the acquisition, a number of key engineering leaders will be joining Microsoft from Nokia. Approximately 32 000 employees are expected to transfer to Microsoft. Among them, 4 700 in Finland. Microsoft is getting several of the cellphone industry’s better-known leaders in one shot — and Nokia’s remaining leadership will be mostly unrecognizable to long-term fans.
I was fearing that this could happen already two years ago. Now it has happened. Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia’s Devices & Services business has more implications for Nokia than you might suspect at first glance. Nokia CEO Stephen Elop is stepping down ahead of transition to Microsoft. Nokia’s Chairman of the Board Risto Siilasmaa will be Nokia’s interim director. Timo Ihamuotila will be interim CEO.
Forbes analyst Tero Kuittinen is surprised by Stephen Elop activities: Elop chose Nokia to become Microsoft Windows operating system company and ther operating systems, development stopped completely. Now he’s decided to sell Nokia’s smartphone unit at greatly reduced prices … Microsoft, a company in which he returns, Kuittinen says. Nokia Sells Handset Business To Microsoft At A Shockingly Low Price tells that it cannot be said that Nokia‘s decision to sell its handset unit to Microsoft is a surprise. But what definitely are surprises are the timing and the price. Nokia’s glory days of 110 B euro market cap are long gone – yet it’s a visceral shock to see the Devices and Services unit sold under 5.5 B euros.
Etla research director Jyrki Ali-Yrkön says that Nokia phones sales to Microsoft is a sign of the error from the previous move: “As a result, the company acknowledges that Microsoft’s operating system is not enough to save Nokia” Something similar I was thinking more than 2 years ago at my Nokia future: Windows Phones 
posting. And the current news clearly shows that the previous decision – the Windows Phone operating system transition – was not correct.
The press conference is held today at 11 am in Espoo Dipoli.
This is the end of the Nokia as I used to know it…. Nokia’s importance to Finland has been in 90′s and since the early 2000′s insane. It has pulled the tail of starring in other IT companies in the world, and helped the Finnish international. Now, a big part of it is gone.
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Tomi Engdahl says:
EU regulator warns Nokia not to become a patent troll
Will keep a close eye on it
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2317963/eu-regulator-warns-nokia-not-to-become-a-patent-troll
FINNISH PHONE MAKER Nokia has been warned by EU regulators not to “behave like a patent troll” following Microsoft’s acquisition of the company’s devices business.
Speaking at an event in Paris on Monday, Almunia said, “Since Nokia will retain its patent portfolio, some have claimed that the sale of the unit would give the company the incentive to extract higher returns from this portfolio.
“These claims fall outside the scope of our review. When we assess a merger, we look into the possible anti-competitive impact of the company resulting from it. We cannot consider what the seller will do. If Nokia were to take illegal advantage of its patents in the future, we will open an antitrust case – but I sincerely hope we will not have to.
“You can rest assured that we are watching this space very carefully. DG competition will hold patent trolls to the same standards as any other patent holder,” he added.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft established a new company in Finland: Nokia employees move here
Finland has been registered in the Trade Register on 21 November new limited liability company Microsoft Mobile Oy, English Microsoft Mobile Ltd.
Microsoft Finnish Communications Director Camilla Lindfors says Technology & the economy that Microsoft has registered the new joint-stock company in Finland as part of Nokia ‘s Devices and Services division marketed preparations.
Nokia Communications confirmed that the employees are transferred to the Microsoft Mobile company. Camilla Lindfors says that it is a legal company name that does not refer to the company’s brand name.
Creating a new company is not related to drama, but it is necessary because Nokia phones are moving into a business transaction, not a limited company dealing.
The business part of the deal, Nokia will Microsoft for approximately 4,700 employees in Finland, and worldwide, about 32 000
The transaction is still subject to regulatory approval in six countries, most notably China. Microsoft and Nokia are hoping transaction will be completed during the first quarter of 2014, ie the end of March.
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/uutisia/microsoft+perusti+uuden+yhtion+suomeen+tanne+nokialaiset+siirtyvat/a953085
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia’s ex – boss Surviving Ollila, Vanjoki and Pääkkönen : “The whole staff fell to senior management level ”
Nokia’s former design and innovation Juhani Risku does not mince words in his blog in a recent assessment of the causes of Nokia’s downward spiral , which ended up selling mobile phone operations to Microsoft.
According to Finland, the new Reporting was considered the main reason for the collapse of Nokia’s corporate name of the practice .
“Nokia has turned unusable Nomination practice. Solve Ville places was finally appointed the unknown and without competence in the field by persons acting . At the same time as the Apple or Nokia’s killer product development led by Steve Jobs and carried out by Jonathan Ive , Nokia’s product development resulted in ( Anssi ) Vanjoki and envisioned ( Tarja ) Pääkkönen . , Nokia put after-sales person and construction engineer , ” Reporting was writing in his blog .
Appointments in turn led to Nokia, as well as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board Jorma Ollila at the helm .
” At Nokia, a tragic accident and the long-term just Conversely, the sector foolish and non-competent leaders commanded the staff to operate the lower -valued targets and niche focus is solely on a touch tone phone and Symbian trusting . Senior management down to all staff fell to senior management level.”
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/uutisia/nokian+expomo+parjaa+ollilaa+vanjokea+ja+paakkosta+quotkoko+henkilosto+typertyi+ylimman+johdon+tasollequot/a954916
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ollila ja Nokian aallonpohja
http://kritiikkiblogi.wordpress.com/2013/11/17/ollila-ja-nokian-aallonpohja/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ollila creation of more than 200 billion was sold 5.4 billion
When Nokia’s mobile phone business, it was decided to sell to Microsoft in 2013, Nokia’s biggest financial and emotional investment was sold. Nokia mobile phones are undoubtedly headed by Jorma Ollila place for business masterpiece up to the moment when Alastair Curtis responded design.
Curtis was able to just styling and phones typologizing different categories. What she did not know, was the usability and new opportunities for the development of the operating system.
Where’s happened to Nokia’s collapse, and who contributed to it? In 2003, the organization as Nokia’s most important change factor for increased Anssi Vanjoki. He was placed in multimedia, which was authorized Nokia’s main phone category, the Nseries range, development. The most important and multi-media work tasks freest unit was nmedia. Nmedia got to do with their own abilities within the limits of whatever, and set a limit of Ms Pääkkönen. There will now be essential, Nokia’s over 200 billion euro reserve sales of EUR 5.4 billion, that is, what on earth would lead to such a disaster?
Nokia has turned unusable Nomination practice. Solve Ville places was finally appointed the unknown and competence in the field without any persons acting in concert. At the same time as the Apple or Nokia’s product development led to the killer’s Steve Jobs and Jonathan Ive carried out, Nokia’s product development resulted in Vanjoki and envisions Pääkkönen.
Onnettominta fact is that the ship and the aircraft is responsible for the captain, Nokia, it is the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board. Responsible found whenever it is leadership.
Vanjoki and Pääkkönen ideas and abilities are not enough to Curtis by any of Apple’s design team, compared to the baseline. In the autumn of 2006, Nokia was exuberant naivety of its own products and complete unconsciousness three months after the death of the future shock when Vanjoki introduced a “multimedia computer”, the N95 model. At the beginning of January 2007, Nokia finally crushed the iPhone, will soon be using iTunes, then Appseilla, iPad, Siri etc.. Nokia raised a series of provincial experts. But where are they now?
Will the 2003 organizational change will lead to a collapse in 2013? Yes you can, as the slow pace of product development and life cycle managers for a large inertia. Before Vanjoki realized that Pääkkönen really fit the whole industry, went for several years. Before Ollila saw that Vanjoki ideas were not so high, what changed in the media sector in Screen-business required, it was already too late.
What nmedia finally did? The company’s insider’s perspective nmedia and Multimedia wider, were his rhetoric and houses of worship. The only thing these units produced were Nseries screen rotating a separate view with icons and photographs skrollasivat in a circle, and the so-called. anssi-button.
Jorma Ollila, Nokia was in the same position as Steve Jobs at Apple. Ollila, Nokia’s mobile phone work in the early years as a strong and intelligent than what Jobs at Apple during his entire career. Ollila, however, lost her grip on a few reasons: 1) mobile phones became media devices and the tech-media for business, and 2) Ollila trusted after Dream Team burnout a growing team of average performing people.
Nokia, a tragic accident and the long-term just in reverse: the field foolish and non-competent leaders commanded the staff to operate the lower-valued targets and a narrow focus is solely on a touch tone phone and Symbian trusting. From top management down to all staff fell back to consistent level of understanding.
Nokia never the most important thing a business and source of income is the undeniable progress Jorma Ollila management. More importantly, the success of Nokia’s Ollila has been the force of the will. However, the conflict between the peak of success and the slow collapse of the ailing and the final head shot is high.
Source: http://kritiikkiblogi.wordpress.com/2013/11/17/ollila-ja-nokian-aallonpohja/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia threatens the economic bomb – even though selling mobile phones to the Microsoft is on track
Obstacles Nokia phone manufacturing to sell to Microsoft have fallen one by one. At the same time Nokia is the threat of being overtaken by the intense economic bomb in India. The threat is real, like the second case shows.
Nokia’s shareholders approved the transaction last month. In early December, the U.S. competition authorities have stated that there are no obstacles to trade . A couple of days later, the EU’s competition authorities announced a similar decision.
Tax problem lurched forward in India …
One barrier to trade at least some of the remaining India. To the tax authorities accuse Nokia too low to pay taxes . The company bears the initial stages of EUR 250 million income tax liabilities.
Nokia’s large factory in Chennai, India, was the dispute as a kind of hostage. Authorities placed the mill seizure , in which case it would not have been able to sell to Microsoft.
Settled to the factories of the past week. Indian Court decided that the plant may be exempted from the sales of Nokia’s paid by the restriction against rahapanttia . Its value is approximately EUR 265 million . The decision does not , however, know Nokia easy time in the future.
Nokia’s decision to explode
The Indian Economic Times , a publication of the Court ruled that the tax liabilities of Nokia India will be paid by the company itself . They do not go to the factory involved in the sale to Microsoft.
Microsoft, the situation is a relief, but Nokia will have a difficult position . Early in the year the 250 million bill is in fact only the beginning.
As well as Reuters and The Economic Times According to the Indian tax authorities karhuavat Nokia billion-dollar amounts. Arrears of taxes is averaged around 2.5 billion euros.
If the sum shall become payable in full Nokia , it would take almost half of the Nokia phone manufacturing sales total. Shock to the new Nokia would be tough .
Part of this sum would indeed go to the Finnish government for payment. Promoted to the news has been told in the past that at the heart of the dispute is the question of whether the phones software fees to pay tax in Finland or India. Nokia believes that taxes had to be paid in Finland, but India believes that taxes should have been paid locally. If India win the position , the Finnish government would have to pay taxes back to Nokia, so that taxes will not be levied twice.
Nokia set out the requirements of a billion is not just a game. India has been very strict tax disputes with foreign companies.
Source: http://www.tietokone.fi/artikkeli/uutiset/nokiaa_uhkaa_talouspommi_vaikka_microsoft_kauppa_onnistumassa
Mobile trends for 2014 « Tomi Engdahl’s ePanorama blog says:
[...] biggest stories of the year 2013 outside the Samsung/Apple duopoly were the sale of Nokia’s mobile phone business to Microsoft and the woes of BlackBerry. BlackBerry had an agonising year and suffered one of the most [...]
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia Said to Near CEO Pick for Future Beyond Handsets
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-16/nokia-said-to-near-ceo-pick-for-future-beyond-handsets.html
Nokia Oyj (NOK1V), seeking a successor to former Chief Executive Officer Stephen Elop, is focusing on insiders including Rajeev Suri as it narrows a months-long search for a manager to set a new strategy at the wireless-technology company, according to people familiar with the matter.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Bottom falls out of Nokia’s network rump
Life after Microsoft looks grim
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/01/21/nsn_sales_drop_projects_asia/
Nokia Solutions and Networks (NSN) is facing a 19 per cent drop in sales for the last quarter and an even bigger challenge for the coming 12 months: how to win enough new biz to support a company soon to be shorn of its handset division.
NSN will comprise the majority of the company once the sale of the Finnish giant’s once-proud handset business to Microsoft wins regulatory approval.
However, NSN is predicted to report a 19 per cent drop in Q4 2013 sales to €3.2 billion (£2.6bn) and a 17 per cent slide for the year to €11.4bn (£9.4bn), when its financials come out on Thursday, according to Reuters.
These will follow a 26 per cent fall in Q3 2013 sales.
A major internal restructuring begun in late 2011 reportedly slashed 25 per cent of its employees from the wage bill and refocused the company on higher margin deals.
That kind of future-proofing has enabled NSN to maintain fairly high operating margins of eight per cent in Q3 and a forecast 12 per cent for the last quarter.
Asia including Greater China accounted for 40 per cent of NSN’s sales in Q3 but it won’t be easy to maintain this in the battle for customers with market leaders Ericsson and Huawei.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia Says Lumia & Other Phone Sales Declined In Q4 As It Prepares To Sell Division To Microsoft
http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/23/nokia-says-lumia-other-phone-sales-declined-in-q4-as-it-prepares-to-sell-the-division-to-microsoft/
In what is likely to be Nokia’s last quarterly earnings before it hands off its mobile phone making business to Microsoft, the Finnish mobile maker has reported lower sales of Lumia devices in its Q4. The company also reported an operating profit of 408 million Euros — but based mainly on its NSN equipment business. So the decision to cut lose its mobile phone making business looks to be vindicated by these results.
In the event Nokia has not broken out a figure for sales of the Windows Phone devices — noting only a decline, so presumably it sold less than the 8.8 million Lumia reported last quarter.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia’s mobile phone last public performance
During the fourth quarter Nokia’s net sales increased from the previous quarter, compared to 18 per cent to EUR 3.5 billion.
Year-on-year, however, sales fell by 21 per cent.
Nokia’s profits continue to parts made EUR 408 million before non-recurring items and tax.
Nokia’s mobile phone saga ended badly.
Stop the mobile phone unit was adopted by the fourth quarter of the year before non-recurring loss of 191 million euros.
Mobile phone sales fell year ago to a whopping 29 per cent, up 2.6 billion.
These NSN’s earnings plummeted compared to last year.
Source: Iltalehti
http://www.iltalehti.fi/talous/2014012317966930_ta.shtml
Tomi Engdahl says:
One last gift for Microsoft: Nokia’s smartphone growth has collapsed
http://bgr.com/2014/01/23/nokia-earnings-q4-2013-analysis/
After a couple of quarters of promising growth, Nokia’s smartphone unit sales suddenly shrank from the third quarter last year to the Christmas quarter of 2013. Smartphone sales usually grow sequentially into the Christmas quarter of any given calendar year. The most ominous possibility is that the Microsoft-Nokia announcement may have triggered a sudden consumer backlash against Nokia brand, particularly in the high-end category.
There was reason to expect Nokia to deliver unit growth, because the cheap Lumia 500 series phone sales were still growing notably rapidly in the autumn, even in America.
Many analysts had expected Nokia to sell 10 million smartphones during the Christmas quarter. The company ended up selling just 8.2 million.
What happened?
Well, sales of the high-end Lumias have clearly eroded badly.
Did consumers suddenly abandon Nokia brand because of the imminent Microsoft deal? It is hard to find an alternative explanation to why the demand for Nokia’s Lumia models slowed down so rapidly after autumn sales performance had beaten industry expectations, spiking nicely compared to the spring quarter
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Tomi Engdahl says:
Even now, most of the relevant companies to conceal information about cell phone sales. Microsoft has said very little mobile phone operations in the figures, and probably Nokia figures I end up in the same black hole.
Source: Tietoviikko
http://www.tietoviikko.fi/uutisia/mita+tapahtui+nokia/a962097
Tomi Engdahl says:
What happened to Nokia ?
Nokia announced on Thursday a bewildering array of financial statements to Microsoft sold cell phone activities. Release makes no mention of the exact number of how much Nokia sold on Microsoft’s Windows Phone for using the Lumia phones or any other devices.
Clear , however, shows that the end of the year has gone terribly under the seat a promising from July to September , when Nokia sold 8.8 million phones .
Mobile phones sales fell 5 percent from the previous quarter and losses deepened to 7.5 percent of net sales.
Lumioiden decline in sales looks especially bad because the October-December quarter was Christmas , when sales would have thought to receive an additional boost.
So what happened ? Is Microsoft’s sales after the announcement of Nokia’s place in the organization screw-up or paralysis ? Or are your competitors simply the largest group of Nokia’s people for Christmas?
This can be seen as a positive that at least Microsoft paid a good price for business to go so badly . On the other hand the situation is not good permission of Nokia to Microsoft for mobile workers.
By the way, might be useless to hope that a mobile phone , Nokia released detailed information on the future of mobile phones from the sale of units or anything else interesting.
Even now, most of the relevant companies to conceal information about cell phone sales. Microsoft has said very little mobile phone operations in the figures, and probably Nokia figures I end up in the same black hole.
Source: Tietoviikko
http://www.tietoviikko.fi/uutisia/mita+tapahtui+nokia/a962097
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia waves goodbye to device biz as phone sales continue to spiral
It’s all Microsoft’s now, and it’s welcome to it
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/01/23/nokia_q4_2013_earnings/
Nokia’s fourth quarter earnings report for its fiscal 2013 shows a company that’s striving to reinvent itself – as it prepares to complete the sale of its struggling mobile phone business to Microsoft.
The Finnish firm is already reporting its Devices & Services business unit as “discontinued operations,” even though the deal with Redmond has yet to pass all of the necessary regulatory hurdles.
Doubtless interim CEO Risto Siilasmaa can’t wait to unload that albatross, however, given its poor performance in the quarter and throughout the year.
After four consecutive gruesome quarters, net phone sales for the full year were likewise down 29 per cent, to €10.74bn ($14.71bn).
Needless to say, those dwindling sales didn’t do much for the group’s bottom line. The former Devices & Services division reported an operating loss of €198m ($271.16m) for the quarter, compared to an operating profit of €97m ($132.69m) for the year-ago period. But it lost €590m ($808m) in fiscal 2013, which actually looks almost positive compared to the €1.48bn ($2.03bn) operating loss it posted in 2012.
Tomi Engdahl says:
What can Microsoft learn from ‘discontinued operations’ at Nokia?
Blip in momentum
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/01/27/what_can_microsoft_learn_from_the_nokias_discontinued_operations/
“Nokia has commenced reporting substantially all of its Devices & Services business as discontinued operations”, the company noted dryly in its earnings report last week. The numbers didn’t paint a picture Microsoft would have wanted.
Lumia sales fell back after four consecutive quarters of growth, having doubled in the past year, while sales of feature phones were flat. The average selling price (ASP) also fell. The explanation isn’t hard to find – Nokia has clawed its way back to 10 per cent or more in some markets largely thanks to the Lumia 520, by some margin the best phone in the sub-£99 category.
The one new value Nokia offering in the past six months is the Lumia 625 – which like the Motorola G is an eyebrow-raising bargain that suggests very thin margin.
Nokia’s brand with its residual trust is essential to the success of the low-cost Lumias – but with Microsoft likely to downplay the Nokia brand, will it retain the same appeal in 12 months’ time?
More of a headache for Microsoft is the continuing lack of traction at the high end of the range. No Nokia executive I’ve spoken has never boasted that the Lumia 1020 – with 41MP sensor and unique oversampling wizardry – would storm the market. It was more of a halo product, it was stressed – but where was this halo supposed to shine? Presumably on the rest of the range.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Is Nokia’s 2007 Decline a Lesson for Samsung Today?
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1320767&
In the results posted Friday for the fourth quarter of 2013, Samsung Electronics reported an operating profit of 8.31 trillion won ($7.7 billion), which missed analyst expectations by a whopping 20%.
Samsung also reported its first quarterly operating profit decline in two years — an 18% drop from the $9.4 billion it reported for the third quarter. Though it posted a record $54.95 billion of revenue, the industry is focused now on its potential growth limits in the coming quarters.
Nobody is predicting the beginning of the end for Samsung, but this might be an opportune moment to compare its situation today with Nokia’s back in 2007. Today the mobile division is responsible for more than half of Samsung Electronics’ revenue and profit. Further, Samsung’s share of the global smartphone market is more than 35%, and Nokia’s share peaked at 39% in the third quarter of 2007.Nobody is predicting the beginning of the end for Samsung, but this might be an opportune moment to compare its situation today with Nokia’s back in 2007. Today the mobile division is responsible for more than half of Samsung Electronics’ revenue and profit. Further, Samsung’s share of the global smartphone market is more than 35%, and Nokia’s share peaked at 39% in the third quarter of 2007.
Today, the prevailing analysis of Nokia’s downfall says the Finnish mobile company didn’t see the emerging smartphone trend, causing it to hang on to feature phones too long.
Obviously, it wasn’t just Nokia that didn’t see the smartphone tsunami coming — at least in 2007. Analysts missed it, too.
Every investor, every analyst, and every reporter is in the business of hunting for the next big thing. Knowing what will come after the current smartphone boom should help predict Samsung’s future. Though the Internet of Things and wearable devices are the buzz of the moment, the jury is still out on both categories.
Drawing a parallel between Samsung today and Nokia in 2007, the key to the analysis is software. Can any company launched as a hardware manufacturer adjust to today’s more software-driven hardware business?
Nokia’s Waterloo wasn’t just smartphones or China. It was an inability to transform its mobile hardware-oriented handset business and develop a real understanding of the software-intensive future. Remember that Nokia was fully aware of the software trend. It invested in a host of software companies and technologies, including Symbian, Meego, and Navteq. But in the end, the more software assets Nokia amassed, the less focused it became. Last year, it announced that it would drop support for Symbian and Meego applications, despite having pledged its troth until 2016.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Regrets? I’ve had a few, says Ballmer, but buying Nokia ain’t one of them
Big Steve admits mobile missteps at Microsoft
http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/regrets-i-ve-had-a-few-says-ballmer-but-buying-nokia-ain-t-one-of-them-1231102
Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told an audience at Oxford University that convincing the board to sign off on the purchase of Nokia was one of his toughest tasks, during a 14-year spell in charge.
During the lengthy chat, the larger-than-life Baller, who handed over the reins to Satya Nadella last month, said snapping up a phone-maker was a tough sell, given Microsoft’s deep roots as a software company.
“And yet: Xbox, Surface and now the phone, and we have a profile that will end up being mixed in the future. That’s a pretty fundamental change.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft’s Nadella Manages Legacy of Ballmer-Board Split
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-03-05/microsoft-ceo-nadella-inherits-legacy-of-ballmer-board-division
As Satya Nadella puts his stamp on Microsoft Corp., he’s coming to grips with the tug of war over strategy and the clash of personalities that marked Steve Ballmer’s final years at the helm.
Several directors and co-founder and then-Chairman Bill Gates — Ballmer’s longtime friend and advocate — initially balked at the move into making smartphones, according to people familiar with the situation. So, at first, did Nadella, signaling his position in a straw poll to gauge executives’ reaction to the deal. Nadella later changed his mind.
“Nokia brings mobile-first depth across hardware, software, design, global supply chain expertise and deep understanding and connections across the mobile market,” Nadella said yesterday in an e-mailed statement. “This is the right move for Microsoft.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft’s $7.2B Nokia deal is officially delayed until April
http://www.geekwire.com/2014/microsofts-7-2b-nokia-deal-officially-delayed-april/
Nokia and Microsoft will have to wait a little longer to press the Start button.
Microsoft’s $7.2 billion acquisition of Nokia’s devices and services business, originally expected to close this quarter, won’t be completed until April, the companies acknowledged tonight. Nokia announced the delay in a news release, saying that both companies are still committed to the transaction and confident that the deal will close.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia expects the sale of substantially all of its Devices & Services business to Microsoft to close in April 2014 – See more at: http://press.nokia.com/2014/03/24/nokia-expects-the-sale-of-substantially-all-of-its-devices-services-business-to-microsoft-to-close-in-april-2014/#sthash.6onSCM83.dpuf
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia union alleges output cut at Chennai plant
Plans to conduct hunger strike on March 31 in Chennai demanding job security
http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/nokia-employees-union-alleges-production-in-facility-brought-down-from-13-mn-to-1-4-mn-114032700709_1.html
Nokia India Employees Union has alleged the company has cut output at its factory in Sriperumbudur, near Chennai, to between one and four million units a month from 13 million units and shifted manufacturing of Asha cellphones to other countries.
The union has demanded that the company should make arrangements to transfer the facility to Microsoft as per the global agreement between Nokia and Microsoft.
Tomi Engdahl says:
A new book on Nokia:
David J. Cord
The Decline and Fall of Nokia
http://www.sets.fi/bok/the-decline-and-fall-of-nokia/
The first book about Nokia written after the Microsoft deal.
The Decline and Fall of Nokia details Jorma Ollila’s retirement, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo’s new role as CEO and the final years of unqualified success.
Nokia’s strategy is to drive digital convergence through their expansion into personal electronics as well as into content and services. It works well – at first.
Weaved throughout the narrative are explorations of Nokia’s structure and culture, the company’s relationship with Finland, and reflections upon successes and mistakes.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft’s $7.2BN Deal To Buy Nokia’s Devices Business Gets The Nod In China
http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/08/nokia-soft-china-approval/
Chinese regulators have approved Nokia’s planned sale of its devices business to Microsoft, taking the $7.2 billion deal one step closer to closing.
Nokia said today it has received regulatory approval from the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China.
Last month the two companies said they expected the deal to close in April, a little later than the originally slated Q1 timeframe — saying the delay was down to pending approvals from antitrust regulators in Asia.
Nokia has been involved in a tax bill dispute in India, so it’s possible that situation is holding up regulatory approval there.
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Tomi Engdahl says:
A new Nokia: Stephen Elop’s plans for Microsoft
Owning the Finnish mobile company Nokia will benefit the whole of Microsoft, claims Stephen Elop
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/microsoft/10749399/A-new-Nokia-Stephen-Elops-plans-for-Microsoft.html
In front of 5,000 software developers in San Francisco last week, Microsoft laid out its stall for a new future where mobile phones are key. Little matter that the company has missed the boat since former chief executive Steve Ballmer laughed at the iPhone – today, finally, it knows that the mobile phone is the only frontier that really matters.
Stephen Elop will be the company’s new commander in this crucial battle. The former boss of Nokia will run Microsoft’s devices and services division, moving from chief executive to a new, much larger role when Microsoft completes its acquisition of the struggling Finnish manufacturer.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Nokia Devices and Services acquisition close date
http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoft_blog/archive/2014/04/21/the-nokia-devices-and-services-acquisition-close-date.aspx
The transaction will be completed this Friday, April 25, when we’ll officially welcome the Nokia Devices and Services business as part of the Microsoft family.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft’s Nokia buyout will close on 25 April
Redmond will also grab Nokia.com
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2340811/microsoft-nokia-deal-will-close-on-friday
MICROSOFT WILL TAKE OVER Nokia’s devices division on Friday 25 April, having received all regulatory approvals.
“The completion of this acquisition follows several months of planning and will mark a key step on the journey towards integration,”
The Nokia.com website and social media efforts will be looked after by Microsoft “for the benefit of both companies and customers”, but only for a year.
That memo said that the Nokia name is on its way out. “The name of Nokia Corporation/Nokia Oyj will change to Microsoft Mobile Oy,” said the letter that has been sent to suppliers.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia mobile phones sale to Microsoft is closed:
Now it’s done – Nokia mobile phones have been sold to Microsoft
Friday, 04.25.2014
Nokia today announced the completion of substantially the whole of Devices & Services sales to Microsoft.
According to Nokia, the company had agreed to the arrangement of any purchase price adjustments, which turned to Nokia’s advantage.
- We believe that at this time the total purchase price to be slightly higher than the previously announced 5.44 billion euros, after final adjustments have been set
On Thursday, Nokia’s sign was removed from the Espoo Keilaniemi head office.
Nokia today announced the completion of substantially the whole of Devices & Services sales to be Microsoft.
Excluded from the sale were Nokia’s factories in India and Korea. India factory had been controversial due ongoing tax dispute. As a result, a mobile phone plant remains by Nokia. Nokia and Microsoft entered into a service agreement for Nokia produces mobile phones for Microsoft. Nokia has plans to close the factory in Korea. Leaving factories outside the agreement does not affect the essential terms and conditions of transactions.
Microsoft will pay Nokia’s phone business and related licenses of more than 5.40 billion.
Nokia’s phone business employees are transferred to the service of Microsoft. Microsoft will transfer to employees of more than 130 office in 50 countries. In Finland, this applies to about 4 700 people. Microsoft says that work will be carried out in different locations in Finland in Espoo, Oulu, Salo and Tampere.
Microsoft and Nokia, Devices & Services mobile phone business was formalized today. Nokia closing of the transaction the company’s former CEO Stephen Elop addresses the employment contract in accordance with a large severance payments (approximately EUR 23 million). Nokia’s CEO Stephen Elop, a former Microsoft moves Devices Group business management.
Nokia’s new name, structure and strategy, will be told on Tuesday. The magazine reports that, for example NSN’s name will be discontinued. After the deal, Nokia will more clearly the network company, as NSN makes up by far the largest share of its sales.
Sources:
http://www.iltalehti.fi/talous/2014042518241631_ta.shtml
http://www.iltalehti.fi/talous/2014042518241641_ta.shtml
http://www.iltalehti.fi/talous/2014042518240483_ta.shtml
http://www.iltalehti.fi/talous/2014042518241705_ta.shtml
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia completes sale of substantially all of its Devices & Services business to Microsoft
25 April, 2014 – 13:55
Nokia Corporation
Stock exchange release
April 25, 2014 at 13.55 (CET +1)
http://company.nokia.com/en/news/press-releases/2014/04/25/nokia-completes-sale-of-substantially-all-of-its-devices-services-business-to-microsoft
Espoo, Finland – Nokia today announced that it has completed the sale of substantially all of its Devices & Services business to Microsoft.
The transaction, which also includes an agreement to license patents to Microsoft, was originally announced on September 3, 2013.
Nokia plans to cover in further detail aspects of the closing of the transaction in conjunction with its first quarter 2014 results announcement on April 29, 2014.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Notification under Chapter 9, Section 10 of the Finnish Securities Markets Act
http://company.nokia.com/en/news/press-releases/2014/04/25/notification-under-chapter-9-section-10-of-the-finnish-securities-markets-act
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft/Nokia Deal Closes
http://mobile.slashdot.org/story/14/04/25/1811222/microsoftnokia-deal-closes
Last September Microsoft announced it would be purchasing Nokia’s Devices and Services business. The terms have been worked out, the shareholders gave approval, and the regulatory issues were hurdled. As of today, it’s official: Nokia’s phone business is now Microsoft Mobile. The final price is around $7.5 billion, and 30,000 employees are transferring to Microsoft.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Decline and Fall of Nokia – Hardcover
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/9515233208?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=9515233208&linkCode=xm2&tag=3636363-20
The first book about Nokia written after the Microsoft deal.
Nokia s fall from the pinnacle of the mobile phone industry was unprecedented in both its rapidity and its extent. Now for the first time the true, comprehensive story is told of the decline and fall of Finland s greatest company.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Farewell Nokia: The rise and fall of a mobile pioneer
http://www.cnet.com/news/farewell-nokia-the-rise-and-fall-of-a-mobile-pioneer/
Nokia was once a dominant force in the wireless world. CNET takes a look at its successes — and what went wrong.
“Nokia wasn’t delivering, or not delivering quickly enough,” said Gartner analyst Tuong Nguyen. “The Korean vendors could deliver it faster, and they were able to pick up on (Nokia’s) weaknesses.”
Contrary to public misperception, Apple did not invent the smartphone. Before Steve Jobs’ touchscreen powerhouse came on the scene, Nokia was the leader in the smartphone business, owning roughly half the market.
But what the iPhone brought to the market was a new sense of what a smartphone could do, and who could benefit from such a device: virtually everything and everyone. Apple led the charge in turning the smartphone into a consumer device from one primarily used in a corporate setting, a notion that then-Research in Motion had scratched at the year before with its compact and consumer friendly BlackBerry Pearl.
“There wasn’t a sense of urgency,” a former Nokia executive told me. When dealing with a machine that pumped out millions of phones, a single mistake or bad call could cost the company billions of dollars. As a result, management was structured around many layers of approval bodies and meetings. “The whole structure was built to prevent mistakes.”
The lack of urgency is understandable; Nokia’s share of both the smartphone and total cellphone markets were in decline, but the drop-off wasn’t dramatic.
Just a few months after taking over in September 2010, Elop made waves with his infamous “Burning Platform” memo
Roughly a year later, during the debut of the Lumia 920, Elop boldly touted the phone as the most innovative in the industry.
But all of those innovations did little to turn the heads of consumers, who were still gravitating toward the iPhone and the increasingly popular Samsung Galaxy S franchise.
The progress has been slow, but steady. In the US, Nokia finally overtook Motorola in market share in the third quarter of 2013 as the fourth-largest smartphone vendor
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia’s Devices Unit Lost $452M In Q1 Before The Microsoft Hand-Off
http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/29/nokia-q1-14/
Nokia has reported interim results for its Q1, revealing a tough time for its devices & services business unit during in a transitionary quarter as the company worked towards the hand off of that unit to Microsoft.
Not closing the devices & services sale in Q1 also meant Nokia did not end the quarter as cash flush as it had hoped (being as it hadn’t yet been paid by Microsoft).
Nokia did not break out sales of Windows Phone devices in the Q1 report, as it did not last quarter — although it noted a decline in smart devices sales for Q4.
Tomi Engdahl says:
With Microsoft Deal Done, Nokia Names Rajeev Suri CEO, $6.9 Billion in Buybacks, Dividends and Debt Cuts
http://recode.net/2014/04/28/with-microsoft-deal-done-nokia-names-rajeev-suri-ceo/
Nokia late Monday said it was naming former networking unit head Rajeev Suri as its new chief executive.
With the sale of its flagship device business to Microsoft, Nokia also announced a restructuring of its remaining business as well as a 5 billion Euro ($6.9 billion) capital improvement program, which includes a stock buyback, dividend boost and debt reduction.
Siilasmaa, who had been Nokia’s interim CEO since the Microsoft deal was announced, will return to his Chairman-only post as Suri takes the helm May 1.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Elop gave a hint: Nokia-name will disappear soon from smart phones
Stephen Elop:
Microsoft Mobile Oy is a legal construct that was created to facilitate the merger. It is not a brand that will be seen by consumers. The Nokia brand is available to Microsoft to use for its mobile phones products for a period of time, but Nokia as a brand will not be used for long going forward for smartphones. Work is underway to select the go forward smartphone brand
Sources:
http://www.tietoviikko.fi/uutisia/elop+vihjasi+nokianimi+katoaa+pian+alypuhelimista/a984846
http://conversations.nokia.com/2014/04/28/conversations-live-ask-anything-stephen-elop/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Stephen Elop: I was RIGHT to BURN the PLATFORMS
Also: He likes pizza and R&D. Presumably not together
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/04/28/elop_ask_me_anything/
Stephen Elop’s favourite pizza is prosciutto ham, mushrooms, green peppers and tomatoes. That was the most concrete answer he gave in an Ask Me Anything session on the Nokia website.
in Microsoft’s thinking, the Asha brand is not a smartphone, so that might keep the Nokia branding.
It may be that the Nokia brand continues on the Android X phones too – if they survive the acquisition,
And he robustly defended the value of burning the previous platforms, in that it galvanised Nokia and got new phones out in record time.
n a predictable “it will be good for everyone” vein, Elop claimed that the merger will allow more development on products, and integration with Microsoft services and with more resources put into projects that have come from Nokia.
Tomi Engdahl says:
That’s right, MICROSOFT is an ANDROID vendor after Nokia gobble
Ex-Nokia CEO Elop says Redmond is ‘committed’ to Nokia X, Asha
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/04/26/yes_microsoft_is_an_android_vendor_now/
Nokia won’t be changing its strategy now that it’s been gobbled up by Microsoft, its former CEO Stephen Elop has said.
“We are committed to continuing our support for feature phones, the Asha family, and the Nokia X family of devices, announced at the Mobile World Congress in February,” Elop wrote.
Tomi Engdahl says:
April 30, 2014
The Microsoft Handset Opportunity with Nokia – the Full Analysis of Potential (its not looking good)
http://communities-dominate.blogs.com/brands/2014/04/the-microsoft-handset-opportunity-with-nokia-the-full-analysis-of-potential-its-not-looking-good.html
Ok, last week Microsoft took over control of Nokia’s handset business that it bought. And in perfect timing, we just had Nokia’s last Quarterly Results yesterday that was the last performance metrics just before the handset division was shifted to MIcrosoft ownership. As Microsoft also has a new CEO, Satya Nadella, who talked warmly about the need for Microsoft to embrace mobile in his early public statements and his first message to his staff, this is a good time to do a proper analysis of what chances Microsoft has in mobile.
As everybody knows Windows Phone only has 3% market share in smartphones (with Google’s Android over 80% and Apple’s iOS at 15%). And Microsoft is no ‘newcomer’ to smartphones it has made software for smartphones far longer than Apple’s iPhone or Google’s Android have even existed.
From day 1, Microsoft had dreamed of having Nokia become a Windows partner, which Nokia resisted for essentially a decade until the ex-Microsoft exec Stephen Elop came to run Nokia as CEO.
Bonus for catastrophic failure? Its a management heist on par with Bernie Madoff! As the Financial Times calculated, Elop was paid a bonus of an extra 1 million dollars for every 1.5 Billion dollars of market capital he was able to destroy in his tenure of less than 3 years as Nokia’s shortest-duration CEO.
But one thing we can take from the Elop debacle. He did not spare any expense and did not skip any trick in attempting to convert Nokia to a Windows house. He killed every Nokia alternate project from Symbian to MeeGo to Meltemi and the developer tools Qt and Nokia’s Ovi branding of its app store etc. All sacrificed on the altar of the false god, Windows.
You may have heard recently that Windows is a ‘fast-growing ecosystem’ maybe that it grew more than rivals like iPhone and Android (lots of articles said that earlier this year – unfortunately totally untrue based on faulty analysis but nonetheless, you could not be faulted for having read that and how could you know that the analyst who was quoted was utterly wrong).
Now, the smartphone market is in hypergrowth stage. Last year the market grew by 35%.
So when someone says ‘Windows Phone grew x percent in past year’ or so, that is technically true, but it is after a disasterous collapse. The only thing that ‘saved’ Windows from disappearing was.. Nokia”
So yes. The Windows smartphone ‘ecosystem’ and platform and unit shipments actually did die before our eyes, and the only illusion of ‘success’ was the wholesale slaughter of Nokia to give a modest mirage of ‘growth’ from a tiny base. You can see that it was Microsoft who DESPERATELY needed Nokia to join the system and ‘rescue’ Windows Phone. Without Nokia Microsoft would have pulled the plug already on Windows Phone.
Windows was supposed to be better than Symbian but its done far far worse than Nokia had ever managed before.
Windows Phone is so poorly received that even when supported by literally the largest marketing push of any smartphone series in history, the Lumia series was outsold most quarters by Nokia’s own smartphone alternatives – and again increasingly now today, as Nokia offers Android based alternatives.
All Nokia smartphones for every SINGLE quarter of its existence were sold at profit up to the Elop Effect. Nokia made the industry’s second largest profit behind only Apple’s iPhone in 2010. But after Elop announced his mad strategy, every Nokia smartphone – not just the doomed Lumia series – was sold at a loss. Not one quarter of profit, ever.
We have overwhelming evidence that its not just Nokia – EVERY Windows partner that ever was, agrees Windows is dead. There is no demand. There is no market. The few that bother to make a smarpthone on Windows do so only for Microsoft’s home market the USA, where Microsoft strongly co-sponsors that effort.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia India employees union chief attempts suicide
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/hardware/nokia-india-employees-union-chief-attempts-suicide/articleshow/34970059.cms
In a statement, Nokia India’s spokesperson said, “An unfortunate incident took place earlier today outside the Nokia factory gates involving a Nokia factory worker.”
Nokia India’s facility near Chennai was left out a recently concluded, global Microsoft takeover of Nokia’s devices and services units. The factory is operating as Microsoft’s contract manufacturer.
The union has been demanding that the company and the government take some steps to protect their jobs.
Nokia India had announced in mid-April a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) to trim down its workforce based on the orders that it had and may receive from Microsoft.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft made a secret book for Nokia employees before its takeover
http://www.theverge.com/2014/5/15/5719840/microsoft-nokia-one-book-photo-essay
In the months leading up to Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia’s phone business, the two companies approached Shoreditch-based media company TCOLondon to secretly build a unique book for the nearly 20,000 Nokia employees set to join Microsoft. The 128-page book was edited and illustrated in London before being printed and shipped to employees in more than 90 cities in 53 countries.
It’s a celebration of the rich history that Nokia and Microsoft both share, including etchings of Nokia’s origins in a paper mill in Finland and Microsoft’s roots in New Mexico.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia’s Chennai unit may shut down
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/Nokias-Chennai-unit-may-shut-down/articleshow/35127452.cms
CHENNAI: The Sriperumbudur plant of Nokia — its largest mobile phone manufacturing facility — stares at a possible shutdown.
With more than 5,000 employees or nearly 85% of its total strength opting for a separation scheme, the plant has been tottering with little or no production over the past few days, facing a bleak future.
“Nokia has abandoned the factory. The plant is an orphan. Nobody wants it,”
Union officials said that workers are panic-stricken, awaiting some direction. “They (Nokia) have orders for 2 million phones (from Microsoft). But there is no activity. Clearly, they are projecting lack of business to employees, forcing them to look at alternatives,” Soundararajan said.
Tax disputes resulted in the asset freeze of the Chennai plant, keeping it outside the deal with Microsoft.
Hot selling ‘Asha’ range of feature phone production has already been diverted out of Chennai to Vietnam, union officials allege.
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Tomi Engdahl says:
So you reckon Nokia-wielding Microsoft can’t beat off Apple?
Wrong. It could. Look at history – and Redmond ought to swot up, too
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/05/17/microsoft_swallows_nokia_to_take_on_apple/
Analysis Microsoft isn’t used to being the underdog, but the company which owns the desktop is losing its grip on customers’ wallets. While buying Nokia is an audacious move to redress that, to make it work Microsoft needs to understand some of Nokia’s history.
Of course, Microsoft has been the challenger before, with varying degrees of success. For instance, Redmond’s fortunes with hardware have been mixed, ranging from mistakes like Danger to the success of Xbox.
What’s interesting with Microsoft’s Nokia acquisition is the need for a turnaround.
It’s easy to compare the phone industry to the computer business, where currently two players are visible to the users: Microsoft and Apple.
To extrapolate from that, Apple and Samsung’s dominant status in phones is permanent. The thing about the computer duopoly is that it’s been around since before the cellular market existed. The mobile market is different: the top players change.
The reason for that mobile-industry-in-a-paragraph history lesson is that there is no reason to assume that today’s Apple/Samsung duopoly is any more enduring than the Motorola/NEC of 1994 or Nokia/Ericsson one of 2000.
Back then I was told that Samsung had a five-year plan to overtake Nokia and it seemed ridiculous. Samsung had a market share of less than eight per cent and Nokia was untouchable. I’d just set up a lunch with the UK heads of Nokia, Ericsson and Motorola and none of them saw Samsung as a threat.
Microsoft needs to recognise that wars are not usually won. They are lost. Understanding the enemy’s weakness rather than fighting their strengths is what will help Microsoft make a success of Lumia
Part of the Finns’ downfall was a swagger which came with that market share, a view that it belonged to them by right. The stated view was that 40 per cent was solid and the way forward for growth was to increase the size of the mobile market.
Nokia relied on consumer pull.
Nokia pushed its view on the market: Nokia picture messaging, MMS, cameras, DVB-H. This proved to be a mixture of successes and failures, but it wasn’t what the operators wanted.
Microsoft needs the mobile operators to understand that they are no longer dealing with an arrogant phone company but someone who understands partnerships. Microsoft will think it understands dealing with operators; after all Microsoft has been in the phone business for more than a decade.
But in my view, it doesn’t.
Yet Nokia’s arrogance of a decade ago is naught compared with that of Apple.
It has, in effect, pulled all the applications revenue out of the hands of the operators and into those of Apple.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft, Nokia Devices, currently inhabited by the former headquarters Keilaniemi has got a new name. The building was named a Microsoft house.
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/uutisia/nokian+entinen+paakonttori+sai+uuden+nimen/a991966
Tomi Engdahl says:
Leaked Microsoft Document Tips Details of Nokia Brand Transition and More
http://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/news/leaked-microsoft-document-tips-details-of-nokia-brand-transition-and-more-540454
With Nokia completing sale of mobile business to Microsoft in April, many tech pundits considered it as an ending to a chapter in Finnish firm’s history that began with paper making in 1865.
Microsoft without wasting much time had announced that Nokia’s phone business would be renamed to Microsoft Mobile. But confusions about the brand usage have been around
Stephen Elop, Executive Vice President of the Microsoft Devices Group giving more clarification about the scenario of brand usage by Microsoft had said, “The Nokia brand is available to Microsoft to use for its mobile phones products for a period of time, but Nokia as a brand will not be used for long going forward for smartphones. Work is underway to select the go forward smartphone brand.”
The tipster has leaked what he calls an internal Microsoft document
The leaked document appears to be from January 2014
Here are some of the important bits from the document.
Microsoft has [the] right to use the Nokia brand for product marketing purposes in connection with devices that carry the Nokia brand (18-months post-close for Nokia Lumia devices; through 31 December 2015 for Nokia X devices; and 10 years for mobile phones).
Microsoft brand will only replace the Nokia brand in product, applications and experiences when Microsoft has launched a new product into the market.
You may now say, “I work for Microsoft and I work on the Microsoft devices business.”
Beats By Dre says:
There’s certainly a great deal to find out about this topic.
I love all the points you have made.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Leaked document reveals branding implications for Microsoft’s Nokia acquisition
http://www.neowin.net/news/leaked-document-reveals-branding-implications-for-microsofts-nokia-acquisition
Microsoft’s purchase of Nokia’s devices business was completed back in May, but many questions have remained over the integration of the two. One of the biggest areas awaiting clarification has been that of branding, as the most recent device to launch, the Lumia 630, still carries the Nokia name, alongside Microsoft’s logo.
But today, the ever-reliable @evleaks has published leaked documentation that offers a bit of insight regarding how branding will be handled as Microsoft integrates its new acquisition into the company.