It's already been quite the waiting game for shareholders of both Nokia (NOK) and Microsoft (MSFT -0.66%).
Microsoft and Nokia reached an agreement for Microsoft to acquire Nokia's famous handset division for $7.4 billion last September. However, fast forward to today and Nokia and Microsoft are still in the midst of the frustrating waiting game that has plagued this big ticket tech deal.
However, Microsoft and Nokia recently cleared perhaps one of the last key details as the two work toward closing this deal in the coming weeks.
Microsoft gets permission
Earlier this week, investors in both companies learned that Nokia and Microsoft had gained the blessing of China's Ministry of Commerce, perhaps the last major regulatory authority needed to sign off on the deal. According to reports, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce was withholding approval of the deal until Microsoft agreed to a formal and extended open licensing arrangement for patents Microsoft owns that are integral to the functioning of Google's Android mobile operating system, which many prominent Chinese handset makers rely on to power their smartphones.
And as tech and telecom analyst Andrew Tonner discusses in the video below, this leaves only one hurdle to clear for Microsoft and Nokia to close the deal at some point later this month.
