Microsoft to acquire Nokia’s handset business for £4.6 billion

Microsoft to acquire Nokia’s handset business for £4.6 billionSoftware giant, Microsoft has agreed to acquire the struggling handset business of finish company, Nokia that once ruled the mobile handset market across the world.

The US firm has agreed to pay £4.6billion to take-over the phone-manufacturing division and expand its presence in the mobile handset market to take on the likes of Apple, Samsung and Google. Nokia has been the leader in mobile phones for 14 years and has been selling mobile phones since 1982. However, Nokia has struggled to compete against other smartphones makers in the market.

The Finnish company's several handset series are already based on Microsoft's Windows system. The two companies had agreed to collaborate in the smartphone industry as Nokai decided to use Windows system for its smartphones. Nokia has been surpassed by Samsung, which uses Google's Android software, and Apple's iPhone, which runs on Apple's own system. A total of only 7million phones running on Windows were sold during the second quarter compared to 31million iPhones and 187million on the Android platform.

Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said, "It's a bold step into the future - a win-win for employees, shareholders and consumers of both companies."