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Nokia shareholders green light Microsoft buyout

99.7% of investors give the thumbs up

Nokia shareholders green light Microsoft buyout

Nokia shareholders have approved the sale of the Finnish giant's mobile division to Microsoft at an investor meeting in Helsinki, the Financial Times reports.

The paper claims 99.7 percent of registered investors voted in favour of the deal, representing around 45 percent of all shares in the company.

Money matters

Long rumoured, Microsoft's move for Nokia's mobile business was only unveiled back at the start of September, with the American giant moving for the company's "Devices & Services business, license Nokia's patents, and license and use Nokia's mapping services".

The all-cash deal is expected to come in at around $7.2 billion (€5.44 billion).

The buyout, which was welcomed by most commentators but caused discourse in Finland itself, comes as sales of Nokia's Windows Phone-powered Lumia range are on the rise, with the company having shipped a record 8.8 million units during the last quarter.

Nokia's low-priced Lumia 520 is making waves

Interestingly, current Nokia CEO Stephen Elop – who will step down as a result of the deal – is also one of the favourites to take up the vacant CEO position at Microsoft, replacing the outgoing Steve Ballmer.

Attention will now turn to how Microsoft will integrate Nokia's Lumia and Asha operations into its own business, with speculation suggesting the Lumia name may be for the chop longterm.

[source: Financial Times]

With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font.