In late April of this year marks the 10th anniversary since Microsoft acquired Nokia’s mobile phone business (announcement in September 2013, completion in April 2014), considered one of the failed deals in the tech industry as Microsoft surrendered in the smartphone business just 2 years later, selling the feature phone business to HMD Global.
The Register website has an epic retrospective article on the Nokia and Microsoft smartphone saga (both failures combined into a big flop). For those who want to reminisce, go ahead and check it out.
The deal to acquire Nokia’s phone business was in the midst of transitioning CEOs at Microsoft because the decision-maker was Steve Ballmer, but the deal was finalized while Satya Nadella took over as the new CEO, as detailed in his book Hit Refresh where he mentioned opposing the acquisition but unsuccessfully so.
Another key figure in this deal was Stephen Elop, former Microsoft executive turned Nokia CEO in 2010, who sold the mobile business to Microsoft in 2013 before stepping down. He later became head of Microsoft’s hardware division but resigned in 2015, moving on to Telstra in Australia, aviation data company APiJET, and software company Digital.ai in succession.
Source – The Register
TLDR: Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia’s phone business marked a failed deal as they struggled in the smartphone market, with key figures like Satya Nadella and Stephen Elop playing significant roles in the events.
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