Handset vendor Nokia is not for sale, CEO Stephen Elop told a conference in London on June 9. Speaking at the Open Mobile Summit, Elop shrugged off rumours of an impending takeover by Microsoft or Samsung as “baseless”.
“[The mobile industry] is going…
Handset vendor Nokia is not for sale, CEO Stephen Elop told a conference in London on June 9. Speaking at the Open Mobile Summit, Elop shrugged off rumours of an impending takeover by Microsoft or Samsung as “baseless”.
“[The mobile industry] is going through a pretty dynamic and destructive time”, he said, pointing to a shift from a battle of devices to a war of ecosystems.
But Elop said the company was now focused on competing aggressively with smartphone behemoths Apple and Google.
Outlining this strategy, he said the group was confident it could capitalise on the need for a third competitive ecosystem, building on its strategic partnership with Microsoft.
Nokia’s smartphone strategy is pinned on creating an open mobile environment that will draw consumers to its services, including location-based apps and tools to provide unified communications, such as VoIP. Leading VoIP provider Skype has agreed to a US$8.5bn acquisition by Microsoft.
“We at Nokia are on a very clear path to build that ecosystem,” said Elop.
However, takeover speculation continues to hound Nokia, whose equity value has fallen 42.74 per cent in the last six months.
The company issued a profit warning at the start of the month, and lost its position as top handset maker by revenue to Apple.
The company remains the top global maker by volume, although Samsung now has the crown for Europe. A media frenzy ensued when renowned Nokia watcher Eldar Murtazin twice speculated that a Microsoft/Nokia M&A deal was in the works, the second time mentioning a possible valuation: US$19bn.
Two PE consortia are reportedly conducting due diligence on buying a stake in European vendor Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN). The Gores Group has teamed up with Platinum Equity, while TPG has joined KKR to review the group’s books, according to one report. NSN declined comment, but has confirmed that the group is open to selling a stake to PE.
Last month, reports suggested the JV’s owners were considering a sale of 51 per cent of the group for around US$2bn. Blackstone, French vendor Alcatel-Lucent and South Korea’s Samsung have also been in the frame for the JV, which is due to be disbanded in 2013.
On November 11, NSN CFO Joe Kaeser said his company was looking for an investor.
