Nokia’s shareholders have done what everyone expected them to do, approving the sale of the Finnish company’s devices and services business to Microsoft.
At a general meeting in Helsinki Tuesday morning, the gathered investors rubber-stamped the $7.35 billion deal, which will see Microsoft acquire Nokia’s devices and services business and license the company’s mapping services, a move that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer characterizes as “a bold step into the future.”
According to the AFP, the deal was almost unanimously approved ahead of today’s meeting, with some 99.7 percent of shareholders who registered voting in favor of it.
The green light from Nokia’s investors marks the end of an era for the company. Once the world’s largest manufacturer of cellphones, Nokia will now evolve into a telecom equipment and services firm.
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