Nokia Selling Its Headquarters To Raise Funds

PolygamousRanchKid writes with news the Nokia is looking to generate some cash by selling its headquarters and leasing it back from the new owner. The sale price for the 48,000 sq. meter building is €170 million. "The struggling mobile phone company has operated in the glass and steel building in Espoo near Helsinki, known as Nokia House, since 1997. The sale is another step towards reducing costs and concentrating on its core business. Nokia has spent almost a third of its cash reserves in 12 months, and in October had about €3.6bn left in the bank to turn itself into a smartphone manufacturer capable of competing with Apple and Samsung."

Comments

A really sad demise

[Bruce Perens]

I have a Nokia n770 and n900, and they were capable systems. In some ways Android is only now reaching a similar capability. If Nokia could have been convinced to market them, Android might never have taken the market the way it did.

I was one of a series of consultants they did not listen to with regard to Open Sourcing Symbian and what was, and was not, still of value in Symbian at that late date. Much of what they really valued - like the Symbian kernel - wasn't really business-differentiating in the eyes of the customer and nobody wanted it any longer, but yet they spent Billions on it.

Their destiny is to become a patent troll or to have their assets bought by one. What a shame.

Re:Tax or Financial Engineering

[roc97007]

3) Monetary reasons. They actually need the cash right now to stay in business. They're betting on a recovery and future sales covering the cost of money. (Speaking as having worked for a failing company that tried this. It probably helped them stay in business for a few more months.)

Re:They need to sell Finland

[alexander_686]

GDP is more akin to profit then to revenue. Apple's net profit was 47b in 2012, or about 1/4 of Finland. We should compare apples to Apple.

The Microsoft and the Nokia

[DrJimbo]

A Microsoft asked a Nokia to carry him across a river. The Nokia refused because it was afraid of getting stung by the Microsoft. But the clever Microsoft argued that if it stings the Nokia then they would both drown. So the Nokia agrees and carries the Microsoft into the river. Halfway across the Microsoft stings the Nokia dooming them both. In its dying breath the Nokia asks the Microsoft why it did such a thing. The Microsoft replies "it is my nature".

Re:Tax or Financial Engineering

[PolygamousRanchKid]

4) Protection from a hostile takeover. The first thing that corporate raiders look at, is what assets a distressed company has. If the stock market value of a company is less than its physical or intellectual property assets, you can by it, sell the assets, close up shop, and make a tidy profit.

Nokia has just made itself 170 million € less attractive to corporate raiders.