14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is very close to completing the Nokia takeover, but a new report claims that the company’s executives had a really hard time trying to come to agreement whether the devices and services unit of the mobile phone maker should be purchased or not.
Bloomberg writes that co-founder Bill Gates and the current CEO Satya Nadella, who at that time was the company’s cloud boss, opposed the deal, while Steve Ballmer, who was still the head of the software giant, was the main supporter of an acquisition.
What’s more, Skype boss Tony Bates, who has recently announced his departure for Microsoft, agreed that Redmond shouldn’t purchase Nokia, while the company’s board pointed out that buying the mapping unit belonging to Nokia made no sense.
After intense negotiations, which involved Steve Ballmer threatening that he could resign if he was not allowed to purchase Nokia, Satya Nadella changed his mind and decided to back the CEO’s decision to take over the mobile phone maker. Gates, on the other hand, still thought that doing this made little sense.
“Nokia brings mobile-first depth across hardware, software, design, global supply chain expertise and deep understanding and connections across the mobile market,” Nadella told the source yesterday in what seems to be a complete change of sides. “This is the right move for Microsoft.”
Steve Ballmer considered that Nokia’s acquisition was a bold move for Microsoft, especially because the tech giant struggled to migrate to devices and services and wanted to focus more on mobile platforms.
In an announcement released on September 3 and revealing that Microsoft reached a deal with Nokia, Ballmer explained that such an acquisition would come in handy to basically everyone, including the company, employees, shareholders, and consumers.
“It’s a bold step into the future – a win-win for employees, shareholders and consumers of both companies. Bringing these great teams together will accelerate Microsoft’s share and profits in phones, and strengthen the overall opportunities for both Microsoft and our partners across our entire family of devices and services,” said Steve Ballmer, Microsoft chief executive officer.
Microsoft is very close to completing the deal with Nokia, with the company receiving the go-ahead from competition bodies in both the United States and Europe. Word has it that Samsung and Google have asked China to impose restrictions on the deal, in order to make sure that patents would not be sold at a higher price after the takeover is completed.