Microsoft has announced that its £4.6 billion acquisition of Nokia’s Devices and Service Division has been delayed until April.
The deal was initially announced in September 2013 and was scheduled to be completed within Q1 2014, but has now been delayed.
The delays are due to approvals still pending from Asian authorities, as the European Commission and the US Department of Justice have already approved the transaction.
“We are nearing the final stages of our global regulatory approval process – to date we have received approvals from regulatory authorities in 15 markets on five continents,” said Brad Smith, General Counsel and Executive VP of Microsoft’s Legal and Corporate Affairs. “Currently, we are awaiting approval confirmation in the final markets.”
“This work has been progressing, and we expect to close next month, in April 2014.”
Former CEO of Nokia, Stephen Elop will become head of Microsoft Devices and Studios when the sale is finally passed, which will also put him in charge of Xbox.
Nokia also explained the acquisition progress delays in a separate statement and claimed its tax proceedings in India had no bearing on the sale interruptions.
“Nokia and Microsoft continue to be confident that the transaction will close, resulting in the sale of substantially all of Nokia’s Devices and Services business to Microsoft, and both companies are working diligently to close the transaction as expeditiously as possible,” said Nokia in a statement.
When the sale was announced in September, Microsoft revealed that it will fork out £3.2 billion for Nokia’s Devices and Services division, which includes the company’s smartphone manufacturing arm. It would also shell out £1.4 billion for Nokia’s patents and mapping services on top of that.
“We remain as excited as ever to welcome the Nokia Devices and Services business officially as part of the Microsoft family,” added Smith.
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