Another hurdle out of the way. Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia’s devices and services business was announced earlier this year, and approval from shareholders of the Finnish company was the first major stop before the deal closed.
As Financial Times reports, the meeting was scheduled for earlier today, and some 99.7 percent of the shareholders participated in the vote — all of them agreed to the deal.
The acquisition is said to be in the range of $7.2 billion, and once complete, Nokia’s Lumia and Asha lineup of devices will come under Microsoft’s umbrella. However, what exactly Redmond has planned for these brands remains to be seen.
Stephen Elop, Nokia’s current CEO, however, is now all set to return to Microsoft.
Nokia is currently Redmond’s biggest smartphone partner, and has been sitting on the top perch ever since introducing the first Lumia handset two years back.
After a relatively slow start, things are steadily picking up pace. Sales of Lumia handsets have picked up some solid momentum lately, helping Microsoft’s mobile operating system rise to a 4 percent market share, pushing it to the third place in the segment, behind Android and iOS.
The deal itself is expected to be finalized in early 2014, and will close after the necessary approval from the various global regulatory authorities.
No comments from either Nokia of Microsoft as of this writing, but both companies may offer more information on the matter very soon, on their respective channels.
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