Nokia-Microsoft deal to be finalized on April 25

Software giant Microsoft announced on Monday that it is expecting to finalize a game-changing deal with mobile pioneer Nokia by Friday, April 25.

The deal to acquire Nokia’s phones has been postponed for several reasons on tax and regulation issues. However, after all the delays, Microsoft said that the deal is finally pushing through by the end of the week.

“The transaction will be completed this Friday, April 25, when we’ll officially welcome the Nokia Devices and Services business as part of the Microsoft family. The completion of this acquisition follows several months of planning and will mark a key step on the journey towards integration,” Microsoft said in an official statement.

On the other hand, despite the impending acquisition, there are no official statements yet whether Nokia’s Chennai manufacturing plant in India will be a part of this deal. Chennai became the focus of two tax disputes prior to Microsoft’s announcement.

“There is almost no way it can transfer the plant, even if authorities allow it. The number of approvals it would require would take up the days until the transaction closes,” said sources from Microsoft to The Hindu.

Employees of the Chennai plant organized a protest by boycotting the company cafeteria to express their disagreement of the Nokia-Microsoft deal.

“As there is still time before the closing of the deal, we cannot speculate on possible outcomes at this point. With Chennai, it is worth remembering that we have said we will consider a services agreement with Microsoft should our Indian assets not be able to transfer at the close of the global deal,” said a Nokia spokesperson.

With report from The Hindu