Microsoft Completes Nokia Phone-Unit Purchase in Push to Mobile

Microsoft completed its deal to take over Nokia Oyj’s phone business, ending a seven-month wait to renew its assault on the mobile market and leaving the Finnish company seeking growth in wireless networks.

The final price may be “slightly higher” than the 5.44 billion euros ($7.5 billion) announced in September. About 30,000 employees are transferring to Microsoft as part of the transaction, which was delayed amid regulatory scrutiny. Microsoft, the world’s largest software maker, is gaining a device business that it’ll bet on to catch up with Apple and Google in the tablet and mobile-phone markets. Nokia is left seeking a turnaround for its network-equipment business and is said to consider the division’s head, Rajeev Suri, as chief executive officer to challenge rivals such as Ericsson AB. The purchase of the unprofitable division makes Microsoft the world’s second-largest maker of mobile phones with about 14 percent of the market.