Samsung Electronics has dismissed recent claims and speculation that it is looking to acquire Nokia Corporation, saying the recent reports are speculative and groundless. "Such reports are purely speculative and are not true," said the company, as cited by Reuters.
Several reports surfaced last week tying Samsung with Nokia, claiming that the South Korean tech giant is planning to acquire the Finnish mobile maker in a multibillion-dollar deal. Such reports drove Nokia shares to its highest in a long time, boosting the company's stock by six percent. Samsung's clarification, however, drove Nokia's shares back down two percent.
What If
The rumor of an acquisition went viral within a couple of days, fueled by the Finnish company's declining position in the market. Nokia's balance sheet reflected high debt, and the company faced a poor performance in recent times, with its shares dropping as much as 41 percent this year. The buyout speculation made sense to many, but what did not make sense was why Samsung would want to buy Nokia.
Nokia's patents would likely have been unwieldy for Samsung in its efforts to close the deal, and such and acquisition would have also meant Samsung had to break its current partnership with Google Inc, which would've made things all the more complex.
Nokia's Struggle
Samsung has recently dethroned Nokia as the world's largest mobile maker, as the Finnish company struggles to keep up in a highly competitive industry. Its shares dropped dramatically this year, as the company saw its customers feeling to Apple's iPhones or Google's Android smartphones. Nokia is now trying to rebuild its business around Microsoft's Windows Phone.
The Next Web's Robin Wauters, however, believes an acquisition would have made things worse for the struggling mobile maker, bringing more harm than it already faces in its current situation. "It would guarantee it a lot of burden and headaches and regulatory issues worldwide," wrote The Next Web. "Samsung, being the biggest user of Google's Android operating system, is currently almost the opposite of Nokia, which has bet the company on Windows Phone."
This is not the first time acquisition speculations involve the two companies. Samsung had been linked with the same intention to buy Nokia about a year ago, but the deal obviously did not materialize.
