On completion of the transaction, Nokia estimates to increase its shareholding from approximately 19% up to approximately 32% and Psion is anticipated to increase its ownership to approximately 31%. The proposed transfer will not affect Motorola's existing licensing arrangement with Symbian.
"The investment shows Nokia's continued support to Symbian as a strong independent software licensing company and to its stable development as smart phones move towards the volume market. Symbian has proven that it is fully able to meet the different needs of its licensees by providing the most optimized operating system for feature rich mobile devices," says Pertti Korhonen, executive vice president, Nokia Mobile Software.
"As a Symbian licensee, Motorola will continue to support the Symbian OS for specific customer and business needs, such as in our 3G devices. However, our primary software focus for the mass market will stay centered on Java, which is also supported by Symbian. We believe Java is what ultimately provides our customers worldwide with the most optimized and differentiated mobile experiences," said Scott Durchslag, corporate vice president of Motorola's Personal Communications Sector.
Nokia and other industry leaders founded Symbian in 1998. The Symbian OS has become a widely adopted operating system for advanced, data-enabled mobile devices. Furthermore, the Series 60 Platform is built on the Symbian OS. Series 60 is a terminal software product that Nokia licenses to handset manufacturers, such as Panasonic, Samsung, Sendo, Siemens and Nokia Mobile Phones. These companies are also licensees of the Symbian OS.
The intended transactions are subject to a clearance by German Federal Cartel Office and to a pre-emption procedure among the other shareholders of Symbian. These procedures have been started by the actions of Nokia, Psion plc and Motorola Ltd., and are expected to be completed within the coming weeks. The transaction implies a value for Symbian as a whole of GBP 300 million (approx. EUR 427 million).
About Nokia
Nokia is the world leader in mobile communications. Backed by its experience, innovation, user-friendliness and reliable solutions, the company has become the leading supplier of mobile phones and a leading supplier of mobile, fixed broadband and IP networks. By adding mobility to the Internet Nokia creates new opportunities for companies and further enriches the daily lives of people. Nokia is a broadly held company with listings on six major exchanges.
For further information (media only):
Nokia Mobile Software
Communications
Tel. +358 7180 45667
www.nokia.com
Press Desk
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+1 972 894 4573
Email: communication.corp@nokia.com
Motorola,
Patrick Hamilton
+44 7715 175 043
patrick.hamilton@motorola.com