The strategic agreement was originally announced on May 18, 2016. HMD Global can now begin operations as the new home of Nokia phones, under an exclusive global brand license (excluding Japan) for the next ten years.
“We’ve been overwhelmed by the enthusiasm shown around the world for the return of the Nokia brand to smartphones,” said Brad Rodrigues, interim president of Nokia Technologies.
“The HMD Global team has the ambition, talent, and resources to bring a new generation of Nokia branded phones to market, and we wish them every success,” he continued. I’m sure our millions of Nokia fans will be excited to see their new products!”
The agreement states Nokia will receive royalty payments from HMD Global for sales of every Nokia branded mobile phone and tablet. This also includes both the brand and the intellectual property rights. However, Nokia is not an investor or a shareholder in HMD.
To round off the announcement, Nokia’s website features the phone section once again at www.nokia.com/phones. Also according to the announcement, HMD Global operates the website for Nokia phones.
A missed opportunity
Microsoft offloaded the Nokia phone business FIH Mobile (Foxconn subsidiary) and HMD Global in a transaction worth $350 million. The company purchased Nokia’s devices and services business in a multi-billion dollar deal almost three years ago.
Then Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer even proclaimed the transaction was a “signature event” in the company’s transition into a device first brand, something the company abandoned since. Microsoft expected the deal would push the Nokia brand to the next level.
However, the deal proved to be a failure. Microsoft ended writing off $7.6 billion from the purchase and Lumia brand struggled to gain market recognition.
Nokia’s return to mobile market echoes the company’s sentiment regarding their customers and vice versa.
“Nokia branded feature phones remain one of the most popular choices of mobile phone in many markets around the world today and HMD will continue to market them as part of an integrated portfolio, alongside a new range of smartphones and tablets to be announced later by HMD,” the statement says.
The company didn’t provide any details regarding the release date of the new products.
