Microsoft is pulling out of the feature phones business to focus on smartphones, at it sells off Nokia’s once market-leading range of devices. However, Nokia-branded handset will continue to live on as the division that makes them has been acquired by HMD Global, a new private equity-backed firm, and Foxconn subsidiary FIH Mobile. Nokia said […]
Microsoft is pulling out of the feature phones business to focus on smartphones, at it sells off Nokia’s once market-leading range of devices.
However, Nokia-branded handset will continue to live on as the division that makes them has been acquired by HMD Global, a new private equity-backed firm, and Foxconn subsidiary FIH Mobile.
Nokia said it had signed a 10-year deal for them to continue using its name.
The Nokia feature phones are pwered by the Series 30+ operating system, making them less powerful than Lumia Windows phones.
Microsoft is being paid $350m (£240m) for the deal, which includes the Taiwanese firm Foxconn taking ownership of a feature phone factory in Hanoi.
About 4,500 workers will switch companies as part of the arrangement, with the deal due to be completed before the end of the year.
In a separate agreement, HMD has acquired the exclusive rights to use Nokia’s name for a new range of smartphones and tablets.
