Nokia, the world’s largest producer of mobile phones will start in a few months a strategic partnership with Microsoft Corp., announced yesterday the Finnish company’s General Manager, Stephen Elop.
Stephen Elop, CEO of Nokia, and Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, were present at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, February 14-17.
“The transaction will be signed within a few months or may take a little longer”, a Nokia official said.
After announcing the change of strategy, Nokia shares on the stock market fell by over 20%, but the directors have assessed that the new alliance is beneficial to competition and innovation.
Elop announced that he has sold all Microsoft shares that it held on February 17 and he purchased 150,000 Nokia shares.
Finnish group Nokia announced last week that it will conclude a strategic partnership with Microsoft Corp. in order to meet the challenges coming from rivals Google Inc. and Apple Inc..
Stephen Elop came from Microsoft in September 2010 to restore the market share of Nokia, particularly in the software industry. He made minor changes, announcing the firing of 1,800 employees out of over 120,000 and appointing a new Chief Marketing Officer – Jerri DeVard.
Nokia has announced that Windows Phone 7 will be used as the main platform on smartphones manufactured by the Finnish company, as part of a new strategy initiated by Stephen Elop, appointed as CEO at Nokia on September 21, 2010.