Not everyone is a fan of Microsoft’s impending acquisition of Nokia. Last we heard, Korea would be joining China and India in opposing the deal, but according to a recent report from the Business Standard, it has been suggested that whatever dispute Microsoft and Nokia had with the Chinese authorities and companies has since been settled.
In fact the deal is expected to be closed in 20 days, but the report goes on to claim that the deal might close without Nokia India, at least for now. For those who haven’t been following the news, the deal was met with resistance by the Indian government who claims that Nokia owes them a huge sum of money in unpaid taxes.
Nokia had attempted to placate the Indian government by paying them a portion of the unpaid taxes in order for the deal to go ahead, sort of as a sign of good faith. However it also seems that the Indian government believes that Nokia has undervalued their business in India, which according to Nokia is valued at $360 million.
However with Nokia India accounting for 9% of Nokia’s business, the government believes it could be worth a lot more. According to Nokia’s counsel, they said that if the Indian government could fetch a better price for Nokia India’s business, they were welcome to take over it, but in the meantime, “There is no sham or dishonesty; the unit either goes to Microsoft or down the drain.”
Assuming it is true that the business is worth a lot more, we’re not sure Microsoft will be that eager to let it go.