Microsoft-Nokia Buyout Delayed

On top of Nokia’s tax troubles in India, now there are undisclosed regulatory hurdles:

“We are nearing the final stages of our global regulatory approval process—to date we have received approvals from regulatory authorities in 15 markets on five continents,” wrote Microsoft’s general counsel Brad Smith in a blog post announcing the delay in closure of the transaction.

A Nokia spokeswoman in India declined to name the countries where Nokia and Microsoft still need antitrust clearance. China has not yet approved the deal, according to sources.

The Competition Commission of India approved the deal in October, as it found that the combination of the two companies will not likely have an “appreciable adverse effect” on competition in the country.

Nokia’s handset factory in Chennai in south India has, however, been frozen by Indian federal authorities in a dispute over taxes for mobile phone software licenses.

Pretty sure the deal will still go through, but still unsure why Microsoft is spending so much money to acquire a flailing phonemaker in an market where Microsoft is at best an also-ran.