Remember Nokia? The Company Is Making A Big Comeback To The Phone Business
A new chapter for the beloved Finnish brand is about to begin.
By John Lim — 20 May 2016, 02:05 PM
Nokia, the Finnish phone brand that most of us grew up with, is finally returning to the world of smartphones!
Who remembers the good ol' 3310?
Microsoft, which acquired Nokia’s smartphone line in 2014, is offloading the business to HMD global, a new Finnish company led by a former Nokia employee
HMD global is based in Finland and will be led by Arto Nummela, a Nokia veteran who moved to Microsoft when the latter company took over the former's mobile business. The new company has agreed a conditional deal with Microsoft to acquire the rights to use the Nokia name on feature phones along with some related design rights.
This means HMD Global has acquired the relevant rights to use the Nokia name on smartphones and tablets for the next decade
And yes, the new line of Nokia smartphones will be on Android!
Joining the party is FIH Mobile, a subsidiary of Foxconn, one of the largest consumer electronics manufacturers in the world
FIH will acquire the remainder of Microsoft’s feature phone business assets, including manufacturing, sales and distribution. The acquisition cost USD350 million.
To sum it all up, HMD Global will be selling and marketing the devices while FIH Mobile will be doing the manufacturing
The various deals required to make all this happen are expected to close before the end of the year.