Nokia-Microsoft buyout
A Marriage Made In Heaven or an Unnecessary Voyage?
The Microsoft-Nokia Buyout Case in Study
NEWS FLASH
The world was greeted with a newsflash on 2nd September 2013. The news was unanticipated in most quarters and the more it was examined, the more curious it became.
Microsoft brought Nokia for $7.21 billion. A company that was the industry leader a few years back had been bought over by a strategic partner.
From the perspective of Microsoft, the deal was ambiguously received. The deal had received mixed reactions.
Manoj Menon, managing director of consulting firm Frost & Sullivan, told the BBC: "Clearly the number one priority for the company is to get its mobile strategy right. From a strategy point of view, this deal is the perfect step; the only question is how well they can execute this plan."
There was widespread speculation regarding the execution plan that should be followed after the deal.
But Annette Zimmermann, principal research analyst at Gartner commented rather sceptically regarding the deal. "Nokia's been in a difficult position for two years," she told the BBC. "So this was a defensive move to prevent all the work they've been doing together for the last two years from being wasted."
The acquisition of a troubled giant was dubious in its details. Nokia was taking a steep fall from the time Android and iOS smart phones captured the world’s attention. The once-a-force-of-innovation, Blackberry had a dwindling fall too. In light of the recent market scenarios,
Microsoft had plenty of options available. Yet, it was Nokia that they chose.
THE CHOICES THAT NEVER WERE
The following excerpt compares BlackBerry and Nokia in terms of market share:
“BlackBerry (formerly RIM) held a 6.7 percent sales share for the whole of the first-quarter of 2012, down by 29.7 percent year over year, according to IDC figures. Meanwhile, comScore said BlackBerry had a platform share of 12.3 percent, declining