Nokia has been struggling with financial problems for a couple of years, so the Finnish mobile maker is trying to regain its stability by selling its luxury handset subsidiary Vertu. According to Reuters, the expensive line of phones might be purchased by the private equity group called EQT for 200 million euros ($249 million).
While customers are waiting for Nokia to release its much-awaited Windows 8 smartphone, the company seems to be plunging deeper into financial problems. Sources claim that the Finnish mobile maker might be in talks with a private equity group called EQT to sell its line of expensive phones, Vertu. The company hasn’t released any statement yet to confirm or deny the rumors, but one thing is for sure: the transaction will bring Nokia 200 million euros, that is, $249 million.
The anonymous source refused to reveal its name because the negotiations haven’t been concluded, yet. Nokia is expected to announce the sale at the end of this week if the two companies reach an agreement. Nevertheless, there is a possibility for Nokia to reject the offer if they don’t agree on the price.
EQT is not the first company who is in talks with Nokia for the Vertu phones. The Finnish company also discussed with Permira, another private equity group, but the sale was not concluded because Permira did not make an offer.
Vertu is famous thanks to the luxurious devices they create. The phones included in the collection do not attract customers through their technological features and their specifications, but rather through the expensive materials that are used for their production. These phones can feature crystal displays, sapphire keys and diamonds, depending on the preferences of the buyer. The price of a Vertu phone can reach 200,000 pounds ($310,900) due to the precious metal components.
Nokia’s market shares have dropped a lot lately. As a consequence, the company is trying to adopt a plan that could help them avoid bankruptcy. So far, they have decided to sell “non-core assets”, which is why they stopped producing Vertu.
