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If it came to it, Microsoft (MSFT) could provide Nokia (NOK) with financing "of a couple of...

  • Sunday, May 6, 2012, 5:42 AM ET
    If it came to it, Microsoft (MSFT) could provide Nokia (NOK) with financing "of a couple of billion dollars," one technology banker says, with another one saying that aid would come via a loan or an equity stake but not a full takeover. "If Nokia ends up in financial difficulties I believe the helping hand would be there," says Nordea analyst Sami Sarkamies.
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This news story has 27 comments:

  •  
    They should just buy them for 6 billion, and it would be 100x better purchase than Skype.
    6 May 2012, 09:59 AM Reply Like
  •  
    there Patents alone are worth 7 billion+
    6 May 2012, 12:04 PM Reply Like
  •  
    Certainly a possibility, but not sure it is worth much of a bet on it.
    6 May 2012, 12:08 PM Reply Like
  •  
    If shares continue to drop, and margins don't improve this could very well happen.
    6 May 2012, 11:33 AM Reply Like
  •  
    I am out of NOK and I think even a buyout won't help those who went long between $5-9 per share, they would be lucky if MSFT offered that much.
    6 May 2012, 11:37 AM Reply Like
  •  
    What is Microsoft waiting for?
    6 May 2012, 01:08 PM Reply Like
  •  
    A merger would be incredibly complex. Nokia is huge...

    Why buy the cow when you get the milk for free?
    6 May 2012, 01:31 PM Reply Like
  •  
    I'd like to think Ballmer would just extend a $50 billion LOC to Nokia NOW so that Nokia could give away the Lumia 900 for free to easily capture market share for the Windows Mobile OS.

    Say Nokia gives away 80 million Lumia 900s. Then developers would be falling over themselves to develop for the platform. Heck, MSFT is already paying them to develop anyway. This way the demand would be organic.

    As I've written before, MSFT could drop a few billion on a buyout and turn each Radio Shack into a Windows Mobile store and sell Windows 8 tablets, laptops and (give away) Lumia 900s.

    Last year HP did the executives in the mobile space a MASSIVE favor.

    They showed how demand could become viral simply by DEEPLY discounting a mediocre product:

    http://cnet.co/KB3EoW

    Apple stores would have tumbleweeds rolling through them if Microsoft installed that strategy!
    6 May 2012, 01:47 PM Reply Like
  •  
    Yes, and they have done before already. Xbox. But that was very costly and was a huge gamble that ultimately payed off, they sunk Sony. The chances of them pulling it off again it even riskier...but it is a proven strategy.
    6 May 2012, 02:41 PM Reply Like
  •  
    Luckily they have the cash flows from the Office cash cow to take crazy gambles.

    It would be cool for MSFT to put Tim Cook in his place using Nokia as his shotgun.
    6 May 2012, 03:23 PM Reply Like
  •  
    80M Lumia will cost around 40B at $500/Lumia, it is a little too expensive and I don't think they would give that many away! I am long NOK though!
    7 May 2012, 05:04 PM Reply Like
  •  
    They would get most of that $40 billion back via telco mobile contract subsidies, Bing advertising income, Zune Marketplace income and the value of the customer data acquired with each "give away" (upselling future products and affiliate marketing).

    Plus $40 billion to Microsoft is nothing since they generate $24 billion in free cash year in and year out.

    I think being the number one mobile software provider worldwide is worth much more than $40 billion.
    8 May 2012, 08:41 AM Reply Like
  •  
    Yes but who is the competition? Google and Apple both blow MSFT out of the water in terms of cash flow, so don't go around tooting the MSFT horn yet.
    8 May 2012, 09:27 AM Reply Like
  •  
    What does Google and Apple have to do with Microsoft's cash flow?
    8 May 2012, 11:20 AM Reply Like
  •  
    Its a comparison.
    8 May 2012, 11:24 AM Reply Like
  •  
    I don't see the relevance of your comparison. Are the executives at Microsoft not going maximize their free cash flow because it is not as much as Apple's?

    I don't get it.
    8 May 2012, 12:00 PM Reply Like
  •  
    If it goes over your head then nevermind.
    8 May 2012, 12:04 PM Reply Like
  •  
    Nothing went over my head.

    Your comment made no sense.

    Apple could make a trillion per year and it would have nothing to do with Microsoft.
    8 May 2012, 03:44 PM Reply Like
  •  
    You are not understanding my point. We are comparing these companies in the mobile space. In the mobile space, Google and Apple trounce Microsoft and even with $40 billion of cash that still isn't as much as the other two. You're touting their cash as if it will bring them out on top, but you fail to consider its rivals who are doing far better in terms of the mobile space. That's all I was saying. I understand that a lot of us are hoping this partnership will bring down the two giants. But facts are facts, and usually the one with the most cash is king. Right now, its Apple and Google.
    8 May 2012, 05:57 PM Reply Like
  •  
    Don't financially troubled companies seem to have a tough time extracting value from their patents? Look what happened with Kodak. No one's going to pay you close to fair value for your patents if you're going under.
    6 May 2012, 03:30 PM Reply Like
  •  
    The Kodak Patents have brought little value because they are only for the Camera functions of the mobile device, ie they have no patents that are essential to the actual functioning on the mobile device. Whereas the Nortel Patents and Motorola Mobility patents contained essential patents hence their sale for billions of $. The Nokia patents are the most valuable of any mobile company as they contain nearly 20% of the essential 4G LTE patents, vastly more than any other company. No company can make a 4G LTE mobile device without using a good amount of these patents. Like everything else in life not all patents are created equal.
    6 May 2012, 03:38 PM Reply Like
  •  
    How do you get your info? Is there an easier way to research companies' patents than going searching them on the US Patent and Trademark Office and reading through all the complex jargon?
    7 May 2012, 02:55 AM Reply Like
  •  
    Ya there are quite a few independent research companies that have done various types of analysis; Just search Google for the Patent related content you seek.
    7 May 2012, 05:12 PM Reply Like
  •  
    If you're interested in Nokia, it is worth reading the entire article:

    http://reut.rs/IAyTAu
    6 May 2012, 08:25 PM Reply Like
  •  
    Can anyone submit a link to a transcript or a media file for the 2012 NOK AGM? Thank you! I have been on their site and there is nothing there except a news release.
    6 May 2012, 09:49 PM Reply Like
  •  
    Here is the reply I received from Nokia to my request for a transcript or media of the AGM: "As is the case every year, we plan to make available on our website a recording of our CEO’s presentation at the AGM. Should be up in the next few days – I believe a transcript will also be put there. As per usual, we will not make available a recording/transcript of the other portions. This is due to the nature of the event and to respect shareholders’ right to privacy."
    7 May 2012, 09:38 AM Reply Like
  •  
    Usually SA posts a transcript of quarterly calls.
    7 May 2012, 09:41 AM Reply Like
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