The Federal Trade Commission said on December 2, 2013 that the US giant Microsoft Corp’s deal to purchase Nokia Corp’s mobile phone business has been approved by the US antitrust regulators. The approval was dated November 29, 2013.
The next step will be for the companies to win an approval in Europe for the proposed $7.3 billion transaction. People familiar with the matter said that on November 22, 2013, the transaction was headed for unconditional approval in Brussels. The EU competition watchdog has set a deadline as December 4, 2013 for its decision.
In September 2013, Nokia agreed to sell its devices and services business and license its patents to Microsoft, after it failed to recover from a late start in the smartphone segment. The recent purchase by Microsoft has proved that the company is all set to gear up for the fierce competition in the consumer devices market.
Meanwhile, Microsoft will be facing competition from other market giants, like Samsung and Apple. During mid-November 2013, the shareholders of Nokia approved the sale of one of the Finland’s biggest brands,which was at one point worth 4 percent of the national GDP.
Photo Credits: Digital Trends
