Microsoft Corp had agreed to acquire the handset business of Nokia. The deal was valued at USD7.2 billion without a guarantee that it would accelerate the PC software company's lumbering move toward mobile computing.
Microsoft had already spent billions of dollars in acquisitions and investments in over the past two decades. The company had been in scores of other firms as a shortcut to obtain their technology. It was also their way to boost their presence in the market that Microsoft does not own. However, few of those deals had yielded great results.
Microsoft had agreed to lend USD2 billion to Michael Dell and his private equity partner to finance a privatization plan earlier this year. However, the deal had been slowed down by shareholder opposition.
Last year, Microsoft paid a hefty USD1.1 billion for the online social network business Yammer. However, the company had spoken very little about it and does not break out its financials. In the previous year, Microsoft had also agreed to invest USD605 million in Barnes & Noble money-losing e-reader. The agreement stated an investment of five years in Nook e-reader and college textbook business.
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