Microsoft to close acquisition of Nokia's handsets business on Friday

Microsoft's deal to acquire Nokia's Devices and Services business is expected to be completed by Friday, the two companies confirmed in separate statements issued on Monday.

Nokia had, in September last year, announced the decision to sell its handset business to Microsoft in a 5.44 billion euro ($7.9 billion) deal.

Nokia said it "expects the transaction whereby the company will sell substantially all of its Devices & Services business to Microsoft to close on April 25, 2014. The transaction is now subject only to certain customary closing conditions."

"The completion of this acquisition follows several months of planning and will mark a key step on the journey towards integration," Brad Smith, General Counsel & Executive Vice President, Legal & Corporate Affairs, Microsoft, said in a blog post.

Microsoft said it has completed the steps necessary to finalise Microsoft's acquisition of the Nokia Devices and Services business.

''The transaction will be completed this Friday, April 25, when we'll officially welcome the Nokia Devices and Services business as part of the Microsoft family.''

The acquisition will help Microsoft accelerate innovation and market adoption for Windows Phones. ''In addition, we look forward to introducing the next billion customers to Microsoft services via Nokia mobile phones,'' Microsoft said.

The company already makes the Lumia smartphone line, which runs the Windows mobile operating system.

Windows has emerged as the third most popular smartphone operating system, ahead of BlackBerry but still far behind Google's Android and Apple's iOS.

Since the deal is multinational in size, scale and complexity, the two companies have made adjustments to the original deal through numerous agreements to address items ranging from manufacturing to IT. It added.

Under the revised deal, Microsoft will manage the nokia.com domain and social media sites for the benefit of both companies and customers for up to a year.

Also under the revised agreement, 21 employees in China working on mobile phones will join Microsoft and continue their work.

The new agreement also excludes Nokia's Korean manufacturing facility from the deal.