True, we are already talking about the division of the company that develops network equipment - Nokia Networks. Recall that in 2013, Microsoft acquired the mobile division of the company, which is headed by Stephen Elop, a native of Microsoft. Several years later, the corporation sold this asset.
There are other contenders for Nokia Networks - in particular, Intel. Nokia Networks business is attractive to many, as Nokia Networks is one of the largest manufacturers and suppliers of telecommunications equipment. The company employs about 60 thousand people from 150 countries of the world.
A little about Nokia Network
The company was formed in 2008 after the merger of one of the divisions of Siemens AG and Nokia Network Business Group. Customer Service is based in India. By the way, in 2011 an office was opened in the Russian Federation, in Voronezh.
In 2013, Nokia agreed with a German partner to buy out 50% of the enterprise. The transaction amount at that time was $ 1.7 billion. Moreover, in 2015, the Finnish company acquired its competitor, the Alcatel-Lucent concern for $ 16.6 billion.
The main production facilities of the company are located in four countries - China, Finland, Germany and India. The services of telecommunication networks, the basis of which are equipment and services of Nokia Networks, are used by about 1 billion people.
The company has about one and a half thousand corporate clients around the world, including about 600 mobile and fixed-line operators. The main areas of work:
- Radio Access (radio access networks);
- Service Core & Applications (core networks and applications);
- Operations Support Systems (network operation support systems providing a full range of products and applications for fixed, mobile and converged communication networks);
- Services (technical support and service).
Microsoft and Nokia relationship history
As for the American and Finnish companies, they became partners in September 2013. Then Microsoft agreed to buy Nokia's mobile division for 5.44 billion euros. Regulators in both countries approved the purchase, and already in 2014 Microsoft began to manage the new asset.
In a short time, the company released Nokia Lumia smartphones, most of which were running Windows Phone. Then new models came out, on the case of which there was no longer any mention of Nokia. The first devices released under the Microsoft brand were the Lumia 535 and Lumia 535 Dual SIM.
A year later, Microsoft representatives announced that the purchase was unsuccessful - the company even had to write off assets received from the Finns in the amount of $ 7.6 billion.
It is worth noting that from September 2013 until the sale, the Devices and Services division of Nokia led by Stephen Elop. He was also the CEO of Nokia from 2010 to 2013. Until 2010, he was a Microsoft manager and was responsible for promoting the Microsoft Office product line.
As a result, the mobile division of Nokia brought continuous losses to the buyer. Two years later, Windows Phone had just 0.7% of the total smartphone market. In 2015, Microsoft laid off 7,800 Nokia employees, and in 2016 - another 1,350 people in Finland, plus 500 from other countries. Then another $ 950 million was written off as losses.
For the entire time of Elop's leadership by Nokia, the share of smartphones of the latter fell from 29% (end of 2010) to 3% (end of 2012). Such a sharp drop is difficult to explain by accidental problems, so Elop was accused of deliberately destroying Nokia's business, so that the company went to Microsoft cheaper. In 2010, it was impossible to imagine a situation when Nokia's mobile division was sold for only 5.44 billion euros, which happened in 2013. Elop himself received 4.2 million euros in salary and bonuses, plus 14.6 million euros in royalties.
Ultimately, all intellectual property rights and the Nokia brand were transferred to the newly formed HMD global. She started working in Finland under the direction of Nokia veteran Arto Nummela.
Microsoft now has a competitor
Besides Microsoft, Nokia Networks wants to buy Intel and some other US companies. Perhaps because now they cannot use equipment made in China. This is not about all equipment, but about telecom systems and software.
Why has Nokia suddenly become such a sought-after company? The fact is that there are not so many alternatives to Chinese equipment. Well, since not only the United States, but also a number of other countries, including the United Kingdom, refuses it, Nokia Networks' products can become very salable.
For the buyer, this means an increase in profits, for the USA - leadership in the race of network technologies (in the event that, of course, if Nokia Networks is bought by an American company). In this case, the United States will be able to force all new states to abandon Huawei products, for example, under threat of sanctions, offering its own products manufactured by Nokia Networks.
The latter supplies 5G equipment, plus software and services, so in light of the deployment of 5G infrastructure around the world, the company's buyer will be in a big plus. Business is already going well - for example, last year Nokia signed a $ 3.5 billion contract with T-Mobile, an American telecom operator. Under this agreement, the Finns pledged to provide the latest generation 5G partner with software products.
What will happen next?
It is not clear yet, as the situation with the purchase of Nokia Networks is very unstable. Probably, several buyers are trying to negotiate with the company at once, each of which has its own interest.
What's more, so far, neither Microsoft, Nokia, nor Intel have confirmed rumors of a deal. If it does take place, then the United States will receive a very powerful set of technologies. Recently, the American company Oracle acquired TikTok, then Nvidia announced the purchase of ARM, and now Microsoft or Intel will become the owners of Nokia Networks.
