NEWS - Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Microsoft to buy Nokia for $7.2 billion
In a surprise announcement Tuesday morning, the company’s Canadian CEO said that Microsoft will buy Nokia’s handset business for €5.4-billion ($7.2-billion), signalling its surrender in the handset wars against Apple and Samsung. Mr. Elop will resign from Nokia and return to Microsoft, his employer until 2010.
The move reshapes Microsoft, adding consumer hardware – the Nokia handset business – to its PC software base. Nokia phones already use Microsoft’s mobile phone operating system. But it’s an open question whether Microsoft, which has never had great success in the mobile space, will emerge as a viable competitor to phone powered by Apple’s iOS and the Android systems used by Samsung and others.
“Today marks a moment of reinvention,” Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Mr. Elop said jointly. “With the commitment and resources of Microsoft to take Nokia’s devices 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.”
Source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com
