Microsoft finally closes its Nokia deal

Microsoft has finally brought Nokia’s device unit on board, about seven months after announcing it was planning to acquire the operation that once dominated the cell phone market. It is now up to Microsoft’s new chief executive, Satya Nadella, to make use of the business, which Microsoft ended up paying more than $7.5 billion for. Nokia’s mobile devices will become the hardware arm of Microsoft’s “mobile first and cloud first” approach that is the cornerstone of Nadella’s strategy. 

Microsoft’s purchase of Nokia’s handset business closed today as expected – nearly eight months after it was first announced. Microsoft stated during its Q1 2014 earnings call yesterday that it believed the Nokia sale would close today, yet a few hangups led to some minor changes to the terms of the deal, Reuters reports. Two factories, one in India and another in China, were reportedly left out of the deal due to tax disputes. And Microsoft’s expected purchase price of $7.2 billion reportedly rose by approximately $320 million to a potential final sale price of $7.52 billion. As VentureBeat reported earlier this week, “Microsoft hasn’t stated officially what it will call its new unit, but a leaked memo unearthed by Nokia Power User points to an obvious moniker: Microsoft Mobile.” Former Nokia chief executive Stephen Elop is expected to run Microsoft’s Xbox and tablet businesses following the sale transition.