Microsoft × Nokia Acquisition Pitch Deck

In 2013, Microsoft aimed to expand it's fledgling presence in the mobile market by acquiring Nokia. Microsoft paid €5.44 bilion in cash (€3.79B to purchase Nokia’s Devices & Services business + €1.65 billion for a 10-year license Nokia’s patents).

The story began years prior In February 2011, when Nokia and Microsoft announced a major business partnership between the two companies, where Nokia adopt Windows Phone as the primary platform for its future smartphones. At the time, Nokia was the largest mobile phone and smartphone manufacturer in the world, but in the next two years Nokia fell from #1 to #10 in smartphone sales.

Some analysts argue Microsoft was forced into the acquisition because Nokia controlled over 90% of the Windows Phone market and was rumored to be considering switching to Android. Microsoft wasted at least $8 billion on its failed Nokia acquisition, including the costs of restructuring and severance payments for thousands of employees. By 2016, Microsoft had essentially exited the consumer smartphone business and sold its Nokia feature phone business to HMD Global.

€5.4B • 2013 • Acquisition