Microsoft's $7.2BN Deal To Buy Nokia's Devices Business Gets The Nod In China
Chinese regulators have approved Nokia's planned sale of its devices business to Microsoft, taking the $7.2 billion deal one step closer to closing. — Nokia said today it has received regulatory approval …
Context & Ripple Effects
Microsoft’s proposed purchase had already won Nokia shareholder approval, followed by U.S. Justice Department and European Commission clearance. China’s approval removes another regulatory condition from the transaction announced in September 2013, which combines Nokia’s devices business with Microsoft while licensing Nokia patents and mapping services.
The deal is a bid to bring Microsoft’s software and Nokia’s handset operations under one owner rather than leave them linked through a commercial partnership.
First-order effects
- Microsoft and Nokia can advance the $7.2 billion transaction with Chinese regulatory approval in place, narrowing the remaining path to completion.
- Nokia’s devices business is positioned to move into Microsoft, while Nokia retains the separately licensed patents and mapping services described in the original agreement.
Second-order effects
- Microsoft gains a clearer route to align Windows software, handset development and device distribution inside one organization, reducing the coordination required between the two companies.
- Nokia’s post-transaction business is more dependent on licensing arrangements than on the devices unit it agreed to sell, making the boundaries of the patent and mapping licenses commercially important.
Third-order effects
- The transaction points to a more vertically integrated mobile-device strategy, in which platform owners seek direct control of hardware as well as operating-system development.
- Cross-border technology acquisitions increasingly depend on sequential approvals across shareholder and regulatory bodies; the earlier U.S. and EU decisions show how each clearance becomes a practical gate for execution.
The trend: Mobile platform companies are testing vertical integration by pairing operating systems with owned device operations, while retaining key intellectual-property relationships through licensing.