Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Nokia to Buy Phone-Software Firm - WSJ.com

Interesting times...

Finland's Nokia Corp. is acquiring the rest of United Kingdom-based Symbian Ltd., a provider of software for advanced phones, in a move that will likely increase competition for Apple Inc.

Nokia said Tuesday it has launched a cash offer for the 52% of privately owned Symbian it doesn't already own. The deal is valued at roughly €264 million ($410 million). Nokia said investors holding some 91% of the relevant Symbian shares -- including Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB, Sweden's Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson, Panasonic Mobile Communications Co. and Siemens AG -- had irrevocably agreed to accept the offer. Nokia said it also expects Samsung Electronics Co. to accept.

[...]
Symbian also will blend its several different flavors of cellphone software into one, to create one open-source software platform. That includes folding in user-interface software from UIQ Technology, a joint venture between Motorola and Sony Ericsson that was spun off from Symbian. UIQ's know-how includes touch-screen technology, which has been made fashionable by Apple's iPhone cellphone.

Nokia to Buy Phone-Software Firm - WSJ.com

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