Microsoft closes Nokia deal, pays more than expected

Microsoft finally owns Nokia's handset division. The Finnish company announced today that it has completed the deal, offloading the hardware department to Microsoft for slightly more than the expected €5.44 billion price.
Although the final price tag hasn't been revealed, Nokia has promised more details on the deal in its financial results when they're made public next Wednesday.

Microsoft has bought the Devices & Services part of Nokia's business. Nokia will continue to be a networking company and will also continue to license Here maps, and will have close ties to Microsoft even after the deal is done: Nokia is licensing patents to Microsoft, for example.
The deal was originally announced way back in September 2013. The two companies were already close linked as Nokia had recently adopted Microsoft's Windows Phone software for its smartphones. Nokia boss Stephen Elop was a former Microsoft employee, and he's back in the fold as one of the executives transferring from Nokia to Microsoft.