Microsoft-Nokia on Ice!

That would be the world’s worst figure skating show, but that’s not the story. What is the story is Nokia’s tax problems with a factory in India:

Nokia recently lost a request for appeal in India over a dispute regarding taxes. This means that the company has to either put up a huge $572.5 million sum against potential tax costs in the country, or a factory that is quite important to Nokia, and Microsoft, will remain a frozen asset. Presumably that would put the deal as originally created on hold, as one of the assets that Microsoft intends to buy is unavailable for purchase.

Smaller things have sunk deals, but its difficult to remember a deal this big getting sunk by something so small.

At this point the smart move might just be to write India a big check and be done with it.