Nokia Sells Wireless Modem Business for $200 Million

Citing competition from Chinese companies and falling prices, Nokia has announced the sale of the wireless modem arm of its business. The business in question makes USB sticks as well as internal wireless modems for Nokia products. The buyer, Japanese company Renesas is purchasing the business for $200 million. While the sale makes Nokia richer to the tune of $200 million, it will also strengthen the relationship between the two companies.

“The alliance enables us to continue to focus on our own core businesses, connecting people to what matters to them with our mobile products and solutions,” says Kai Oistamo, Executive Vice President, Nokia.

Renesas doesn’t walk away with the short end of the stick in this deal. By acquiring Nokia’s wireless modem branch, it gains Nokia’s technology dealing with mobile handsets which is a pretty expansive market. As the world’s leading mobile device supplier, Nokia technology has been installed on billions of handsets around the world. In addition, the company gains approimately 1.000 of Nokia’s research and development staff.

In a statement, Yasushi Akao, President of Renesas Electronics Corporation, ”The agreement with Nokia demonstrates our long-standing commitment to shape the future of advanced mobile platforms and will serve as an important step for us to become a leading mobile platform vendor in the global market.

Ultimately the continued partnership of these two companies is a win/win for the consumer including continued work on providing a true cloud computing experience to mobile phone users.

The deal is currently being finalized with both parties going through the proper channels to adhere to the regulatory channels.

About the Author
Sherri is a freelance writer that has a love of all things fun and geeky including gadgets, gaming, anime, and comics. When she isn't writing or out on the town living it up, she loves doing 10-12 hour marathon sessions on her Xbox 360 or one of her older consoles. It's not an addiction, it's a way of life!
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