We are already aware of the deal for quite some time and today, it is finally official: Nokia’s well-known HERE mapping and locations services have been purchased by a consortium of German automakers that consisted of Audi, BMW and Daimler. According to the official announcement by Nokia, the consortium agreed to purchase HERE for EUR 2.8 billion which is around RM 11.76 billion.
According to the joint press release by the consortium, each of the three partners will hold an equal stake in HERE. Additionally, it will not interfere into HERE’s operational business and has stated that HERE’s management will continue to be independent. The consortium also stated that HERE will continue to be available to customers across all sectors.
While the deal is expected to be completed by first quarter of 2016 pending the customary approval from authorities, Nokia’s business will be soon reduced to two divisions – Nokia Networks and Nokia Technologies – as a direct result from the acquisition. That doesn’t mean Nokia now able to rest on its laurels though as it is also working on the merger with Alcatel-Lucent which was purchased by Nokia earlier this year.
Not to forget, Nokia is also planning to make a comeback into mobile phone business in 2016 although it will be taking a different approach this time around as compared to the time before Nokia’s Devices & Services was offloaded to Microsoft in 2013. All in all, things have been quite busy for Nokia this year and doesn’t looked like it going to change anytime soon.
