9 ms·

I don't agree with all the things in this article, but there certainly rings a bell of truth in there somewhere. A 5.44 billion EURO transaction to acquire a c

I don't agree with all the things in this article, but there certainly rings a bell of truth in there somewhere. A 5.44 billion EURO transaction to acquire a company that is already in a strategic partnership with you and working exclusively with your platform doesn't make sense. My vote also goes for Nokia being financially in trouble, and M$ have their hand forced by the fear of a collapse in Nokia would gut the distribution channels for all the flagship windows phone models. Worse, what if word got out and someone else bought them? ...wait, no, that would mean Microsoft would have some special insider knowledge of Nokia's finances that no one else was party to. Surely not.

andrewfong 13y ago
> ...wait, no, that would mean Microsoft would have some special insider knowledge of Nokia's finances that no one else was party to. Surely not. Not really an issue if the board approved going to Microsoft with the financial information first. Moreover, when negotiating the strategic partnership, Microsoft may have gotten a right of first negotiation, that would legally entitle it to first dibs on the acquisition and certain "insider knowledge" anyway. Ultimately, shareholders might still have to approve the transaction, but there's no insider trading issue with reaching out to potential acquirers on the downlow.
- yulaow 13y ago
  So, since the begin the Board was aiming to an acquisition by microsoft after nokia would be so in debt that the total cost would drop? It seems like the board, since now, has made the interest of microsoft and not nokia.
  - tanzam75 13y ago
    Nokia does not have a net debt position. They have about €2 billion of net cash. After the Microsoft acquisition, €7 billion.
maaaats 13y ago
The article is full of errors and unbacked claims. > ... adding on a mobile phone business that Microsoft probably should abandon ... Why should it be abandoned? Just because the author isn't a fan of WP8? > have argued that Stephen Elop made a massive strategic error by choosing Windows Phone over Android; ... It would have been to Nokia’s benefit to have everyone running Android, including themselves. Not necessarily true. There's only one manufacturer making money on Android at the moment, Samsung. When Elop got aboard, Nokia was already waaay behind. It's not like he drove them down, he merely tried saving them. Choosing Android might have gone better, but probably not. At least it was better going for WP than sticking to their own, dying systems.
- rmc 13y ago
  Why should it be abandoned? Just because the author isn't a fan of WP8? The general public aren't a fan of WP8 either.
  - iaskwhy 13y ago
    20% of the general public in Poland, Mexico and some Eastern European countries don't agree with that claim. People forget how varied is the smartphone market across regions.
    - chris_wot 13y ago
      Only 20%? This is not a great argument!
      - mkr-hn 13y ago
        As Apple fans are often quick to point out when someone mentions Android's share, market share is not the only (or best) measure of a platform.
        chris_wot 13y ago
        Except the argument was that the general public aren't fans of Windows phones, to which 20% market share of a few regions was used as a counter argument. I would tend to think that market share is one indicator of a phone platform's popularity, and while 20% is not bad, it's not an amazing figure either.
akandiah 13y ago
>My vote also goes for Nokia being financially in trouble, and M$ have their hand forced by the fear of a collapse in Nokia would gut the distribution channels for all the flagship windows phone models. I believe M$ and Nokia made a strategic agreement around 12 months ago that guaranteed that if anyone were to purchase Nokia, it would be Microsoft. The writing has been on the wall since then. I don't know why people are surprised by this move.
- justincormack 13y ago
  No need for a deal. Going windows phone only made Nokia unsaleable to anyone else anyway.
  - discodave 13y ago
    Except by somebody who had an interest in making WP go away... Although I'm sure there would be howls of protest and possibly regulatory issues with Google, Samsung or Apple buying Nokia.
    - marcosdumay 13y ago
      WP is perfectly capable of going away by its own feet, nobody needs to help.

andrewfong 13y ago

> ...wait, no, that would mean Microsoft would have some special insider knowledge of Nokia's finances that no one else was party to. Surely not. Not really an issue if the board approved going to Microsoft with the financial information first. Moreover, when negotiating the strategic partnership, Microsoft may have gotten a right of first negotiation, that would legally entitle it to first dibs on the acquisition and certain "insider knowledge" anyway. Ultimately, shareholders might still have to approve the transaction, but there's no insider trading issue with reaching out to potential acquirers on the downlow.

yulaow 13y ago
So, since the begin the Board was aiming to an acquisition by microsoft after nokia would be so in debt that the total cost would drop? It seems like the board, since now, has made the interest of microsoft and not nokia.
- tanzam75 13y ago
  Nokia does not have a net debt position. They have about €2 billion of net cash. After the Microsoft acquisition, €7 billion.

maaaats 13y ago

The article is full of errors and unbacked claims. > ... adding on a mobile phone business that Microsoft probably should abandon ... Why should it be abandoned? Just because the author isn't a fan of WP8? > have argued that Stephen Elop made a massive strategic error by choosing Windows Phone over Android; ... It would have been to Nokia’s benefit to have everyone running Android, including themselves. Not necessarily true. There's only one manufacturer making money on Android at the moment, Samsung. When Elop got aboard, Nokia was already waaay behind. It's not like he drove them down, he merely tried saving them. Choosing Android might have gone better, but probably not. At least it was better going for WP than sticking to their own, dying systems.

rmc 13y ago
Why should it be abandoned? Just because the author isn't a fan of WP8? The general public aren't a fan of WP8 either.
- iaskwhy 13y ago
  20% of the general public in Poland, Mexico and some Eastern European countries don't agree with that claim. People forget how varied is the smartphone market across regions.
  - chris_wot 13y ago
    Only 20%? This is not a great argument!
    - mkr-hn 13y ago
      As Apple fans are often quick to point out when someone mentions Android's share, market share is not the only (or best) measure of a platform.
      - chris_wot 13y ago
        Except the argument was that the general public aren't fans of Windows phones, to which 20% market share of a few regions was used as a counter argument. I would tend to think that market share is one indicator of a phone platform's popularity, and while 20% is not bad, it's not an amazing figure either.

akandiah 13y ago

>My vote also goes for Nokia being financially in trouble, and M$ have their hand forced by the fear of a collapse in Nokia would gut the distribution channels for all the flagship windows phone models. I believe M$ and Nokia made a strategic agreement around 12 months ago that guaranteed that if anyone were to purchase Nokia, it would be Microsoft. The writing has been on the wall since then. I don't know why people are surprised by this move.

justincormack 13y ago
No need for a deal. Going windows phone only made Nokia unsaleable to anyone else anyway.
- discodave 13y ago
  Except by somebody who had an interest in making WP go away... Although I'm sure there would be howls of protest and possibly regulatory issues with Google, Samsung or Apple buying Nokia.
  - marcosdumay 13y ago
    WP is perfectly capable of going away by its own feet, nobody needs to help.