Shares of Nokia (NOK 3.60%) are enjoying healthy gains today, closing up 5%, after the company announced that regulators in China have approved its proposed sale of its devices business to Microsoft (MSFT -1.84%). The deal was supposed to close in the first quarter of this year, but last month Nokia and Microsoft said it was being delayed as Asian regulators continued to scrutinize it. The deal is still expected to close by the end of this month.
In other news related to Microsoft's smartphone ambitions, the company also confirmed that it would cut Windows Phone license fees to $0. That's a necessary move considering the fact that Microsoft is about to purchase the biggest Windows Phone vendor. Doing so will help Microsoft garner much-needed OEM support. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
In this segment from Tuesday's Tech Teardown, host Erin Kennedy and Motley Fool tech and telecom bureau chief Evan Niu discuss the deal, and the market's reaction now that the uncertainty around it has been lifted. Evan also takes a look at Microsoft's broader strategy aimed at its weak position in smartphones, and the other tricks it has up its sleeve beyond this acquisition.
