MICROSOFT ACQUIRES NOKIA - NOW NOKIA PHONES WILL BE KNOWN AS MICROSOFT PHONES !!!

ACQUISITION OF NOKIA BY MICROSOFT - FINALLY ON 25TH APRIL

Nokia and Microsoft on Monday announced that they would close their $7.2 billion deal on April 25.Nokia had sent to its suppliers, telling them that its phone division, which Microsoft had bought for $7.2 billion, would be now known as Microsoft Mobile.

"Nokia expects the transaction whereby the company will sell substantially all of its Devices & Services business to Microsoft to close on April 25, 2014.

Microsoft added that the deal now also included Nokia's online assets. "Our two companies have agreed that Microsoft will manage the nokia.com domain and social media sites for the benefit of both companies and our customers for up to a year," said Brad Smith, executive vice president (legal & corporate affairs) at Microsoft.

Manasi Yadav, senior market analyst at IDC, said that if Microsoft changed the name, it might affect the sale of Lumia and Asha phones, at least temporarily, in markets like India. 

In addition to this expected completion date, Microsoft has detailed a few of the changes that its agreement has undergone since it was announced last year :

• Microsoft will manage Nokia.com and Nokia’s social network accounts for “up to a year”.

• Twenty-one of Nokia’s employees in China will join Microsoft and continue their work.

• Microsoft will no longer acquire Nokia’s Korean manufacturing plant as was originally planned.

"In a country like India, where Nokia has a very strong brand image, changing of name is likely to affect the sale of Lumia or Asha phones. While both Lumia and Asha range of phones have distinct identity, people associate them with Nokia. The box in which these phones are sold has Nokia printed on it. A change in brand name may confuse people," said Manasi.

"Microsoft will have to do some marketing and awareness campaign to tell people that now Nokia will be known as Microsoft Mobile. Or people will find it unfamiliar. The good news is that it is definitely doable. 

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