Strategically teaming up as OS partners may not be enough for Microsoft when it comes to Nokia, according to Russian Nokia watcher Eldar Murtazin, claiming the Finnish firm is in talks to sell off its entire handset division to the software giant.
Murtazin wrote that Nokia could start negotiations as early as next week, with a deal to be announced soon after, paving the way for everything to be signed and sealed by the end of 2011. This would suit both companies’ timeframes, as they race to become a worthy competitor to Apple and the Google Android alliance.
This has, of course, been one of the many Trojan horse conspiracies thrown around since former Microsoft executive Stephen Elop took over as CEO of Nokia several months ago. How realistic the move would be remains to be seen, as it would signal the end of Nokia as we know it, and would no doubt cost Microsoft a pretty package.
After all, there’s a premium to be paid for such a vast quantity of IP, not to mention the fierce Finnish nationalist and shareholder objections that would likely arise if the price was not felt to be right. Then again, we’re talking about Microsoft, a company which felt $8.5 Billion was a good price for Skype.
With the handset division gone, Nokia could be left with just its stake in Nokia Siemens Networks and Navteq left.
