Microsoft’s acquisition of smartphone maker Nokia is set to become final in April, 2014. That’s a little later than the Q1, 2014 estimate the companies proposed when Microsoft agreed to acquire Nokia for over $7 billion last year. But what’s a month or so between multi-billion dollar companies?
In a statement, Microsoft says that the deal has been approved by regulatory agencies in 15 markets so far, but that approval on “the final markets” is expected to close in April.
Nokia’s statement explains the deal’s been approved by the US Department of Justice and the European Commission, but still needs approval from antitrust authorities in Asia.
The two companies have been working closely together for a while, with Nokia making some of the most popular Windows Phone devices so far. Nokia is also the only company other than Microsoft that’s currently pushing a Windows RT tablet.
But Nokia hasn’t exactly gone all-in with Windows. The company recently introduce a line of low-end smartphones running a heavily customized version of Google Android. It’s been customized to look a lot like the company’s Windows Phone handsets, but the move didn’t exactly thrill Microsoft officials.
via GeekWire
PLEASE make a Nokia-style 8-inch 64bit Windows 8.1 tablet!
“We’ll all go down together…”
-Billy Joel
So the deal won’t be finalized for another 90 years? Now that’s what I call due diligence.