“Microsoft is wagering $7.2 billion on the idea that owning Nokia’s phone business will help the software giant grab a bigger slice of the mobile computing market from Apple and Google,” Matti Huuhtanen reports for The Associated Press. “Some analysts questioned whether buying up the mobile business of Nokia, the fading star of the cellphone world, would aid Microsoft. ‘Until there are signs that (Microsoft) can innovate and successfully execute in the post-PC era, we expect the stock to languish at current levels,’ said Janney analysts Yun Kim and Alice Hur. ‘We do not believe the planned acquisition of (Nokia’s) mobile business changes (Microsoft’s) strategic positioning in the smartphone market.'”
Huuhtanen reports, “Microsoft’s shares fell $2.05, or 6.1 percent, to $31.35 in midday trading in the U.S.”
“Microsoft, based in Redmond, Wash., has been racing to catch up with customers who are increasingly pursuing their digital lives on smartphones and tablet computers rather than traditional PCs. The shift is weakening Microsoft, which has dominated the PC software market for the past 30 years, and empowering Apple Inc., the maker of the trend-setting iPhone and iPad,” Huuhtanen reports. “The acquisition is being made at the same time that Microsoft is looking for a new leader. Just 10 days ago, Ballmer, 57, announced he will step down as CEO within the next year. Stephen Elop, who left Microsoft in 2010 to become Nokia CEO, will step down as president and CEO of the company to become executive vice president of Nokia devices and services and will rejoin Microsoft once the acquisition closes. The deal has fueled speculation that Elop, a former Microsoft executive, will emerge as a top candidate to succeed Ballmer.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Please, let them make Elop CEO… please, let them make Elop CEO… please, let them make Elop CEO…
Best MDN take ever — we’ll at least since “…as long as it takes”.
Well, there goes the Ballmer bump. One step forward and two steps back.
Yep, nothing like the “reverse Midas touch”.
You know that’s the plan the whole time. Make Elop CEO, so Steve looks good.
Sabotage! They sent that f*cker in there to trash the place, so then they can pick it up for a song and Elop the company man is the winner.
AAPL up 0.2 %.
The vaguely humanoid terminator model, the T-BOMBER, has almost completed his mission
…with finesse!
A while back I speculated that Microsoft was now structrually incapable of producing anything of quality. If their board picks Elop, there will have demonstrated just how far from reality things have gotten for them. Gad, that would provide fodder for MDN takes for years to come. Funier than Mikey, funnier than Balmer T Clown… I mean, how ridiculous could things get?
Awesome! It’s deja vu all over again! In ’08 MS bought smart phone maker Danger. The end result was the wildly popular Kin!
Ooooo…this is gonna be fun! Where’s my popcorn?!
In other breaking news…rapid deployment of suicide nets begins at BlackBerry offices.
And the dinosaurs continue to mate with abandon.
Steve Ballmer and Elop’s plan is to run down Microsoft until they can afford to buy it outright in a couple of years for $1B then oust Bill Gates.
If that,s the case they better sell there share now. It’s not going to get better than this for Microsloth for a long time if ever.
MS is not the danger any more – it is Google.
I always have to laugh every time I hear that Microsoft has to do something so they can innovate. What has Microsift ever innovated? Everything they’ve developed was either copied or stolen from someone else. Yet they spew the word innovate like their the most creative company in the world. Unfortunately, a lot of people and businesses actually fall for their line. Kind of irks me. You don’t see Apple doing that, and they’re one of the most innovative companies in the world. It’s like a giant game of pretend. Keep stating a lie over and over and people accept it as fact. Oh well, it worked well for the Nazi’s, funny to think that’s where they got their inspiration. Microsoft has no class.
Share price reaction isn’t always a good gauge of the wisdom of a particular deal, but in this case it’s hard to argue the deal is expensive and changes little of significance for Microsoft.