Mike Temporale
06-11-2004, 02:45 PM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=1293&e=1&u=/afp/20040609/bs_afp/finland_britain_telecom&sid=96001016' target='_blank'>http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=1293&e=1&u=/afp/20040609/bs_afp/finland_britain_telecom&sid=96001016</a><br /><br /></div>"British mobile handset firm Psion said its proposal sale of its 31 percent stake in Symbian to Nokia (news - web sites) has been approved by German competition authorities, completing the formal clearance process for the transfer. The transaction had already been approved by Psion's shareholders and by the competition authorities in Austria and Finland. The deal is now moving to its final phase, when other shareholders in Symbian, a mobile phone software firm, can use their proportional pre-emption rights to buy the shares."<br /><br />Not much of a surprise here. When this is finished, Nokia should end up with just under 50% ownership in Symbian. I think this undermines the idea behind a multivendor ownership. That's okay. I don't think it will make much difference in how the company operates. However, if Nokia manages to acquire any more shares, then we will start to see problems.