For the past couple of days there have been reports of a potential Tumblr acquisition by Yahoo. Citing sources with close knowledge of the deal, AllThingsD is now reporting that Yahoo’s board of directors has approved a $1.1 billion acquisition of the blogging platform.

The deal is believed to be an all-cash acquisition and as part of the agreement, Tumblr CEO David Karp will stay at Yahoo for the next four years at least, and will maintain control of its operations. Both the companies are expected to release an official statement tomorrow.

As we have said before, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer sees this deal as “the stake in the ground for what her strategy going forward for Yahoo.” Since taking over as the CEO back in July 2012, she has been working towards changing the perception youngsters have of Yahoo, and Tumblr, which is viewed as an incredibly cool and hip platform, is going to be used to infuse some cool in to the entire Yahoo identity.

Ever since Marissa Mayer was appointed as the new CEO for Yahoo! back in July, the company has been steadily acquiring smaller companies and also revamping its website and email clients. After acquiring Snip.It in January, Yahoo! today announced that it had acquired another startup company called Summly.

Summly is a startup company that develops an app which essentially is a news gathering and delivery app. Founded by 17-year old Nick D’Aloisio, the app allows a user to skim and share news quickly using various gestures. For publishers, Summly provides a new approach to drive interest in stories and reach a generation of mobile users that want information on the go.

The deal according to a report on AllThingsD, is believed to be somewhere around the $30 million mark and Yahoo! announced that with the acquisition, the Summly team will be joining Yahoo! and the app will be shutdown in the coming weeks. It will be interesting to see how Yahoo! uses this technology on its own mobile apps.

Research In Motion is currently weighing every single option it can think of in an effort to reverse a negative trend that is approaching a boiling point for investors. Reports that RIM is currently in talks to license its software to other vendors are accurate according to our trusted sources, though we have been told that RIM is most likely leaning toward an outright sale of one or more divisions, or even the whole company. The front runner, we have been told by a trusted source with knowledge of the situation, is Samsung, which might be interested in RIM for a number of reasons.

One of the biggest assets RIM has is BlackBerry Messenger, and it would be a smart way for Samsung to differentiate itself inside the Android ecosystem. HTC has its Sense suite and it recently bought into Beats by Dr. Dre. Samsung could buy RIM, or a part of the company, and integrate not only BBM but also several other enterprise features into Android to make its devices an even bigger threat to competitors. This could also help Samsung better differentiate itself on the software and OS level, pulling more control into its hands and away from Google.

We have heard that Jim Balsillie is actively meeting with almost every company that might be interested in either a part or all of RIM, in addition to having talks about licensing. “Jim is going hard after Samsung,” said a source with knowledge of the negotiations. One of the reasons no deal has been struck, however, is that RIM’s co-CEOs are asking for way too much.

We have heard the company is looking for more than $10 billion for a full sale, likely somewhere in the $12 billion to $15 billion range, or between approximately $22.90 and $28.60 per share. RIM’s market capitalization currently sits at about $8.5 billion, though several analysts think that even $8.5 billion is more than an interested party would consider bidding at the moment.

Samsung declined to comment and a spokesperson for RIM did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It’s certainly an interesting time at Research In Motion, and we’ll have much more on RIM in the coming days.

UPDATE: In a statement provided to Reuters Wednesday evening, a Samsung spokesman said the company is not interested in an outright purchase of Research In Motion. The spokesman did not address reports that Samsung is considering licensing RIM’s software, however, or purchasing a portion of RIM’s assets.

This post originally appeared on BGR: The Three Biggest Letters In Tech.com

Samsung will purchase Sony’s 50% share of S-LCD, a joint venture created by both companies in 2004, for $939.6 million. Both companies will continue to cooperate on the development of new LCD panel technology, however, and Sony says it hopes to “secure a flexible and steady supply” of LCD panels from Samsung moving forward. “With whole ownership of S-LCD, Samsung anticipates heightened flexibility, speed and efficiency in both panel production and business operations,” Samsung said in the statement. Samsung expects the purchase to be finalized by the end of January 2012 pending approval from regulatory authorities. The full press release follows after the break.

Sony and Samsung Shift to New LCD Panel Business Alliance
•Samsung to acquire all of Sony’s shares of S-LCD, making the joint venture its wholly-owned subsidiary
•Sony and Samsung enter into a strategic agreement for supply and purchase of LCD panels.

Tokyo, Japan - Sony Corporation (“Sony”) and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (“Samsung”) today announced that the two companies have signed agreements to transition the current business relationship with respect to LCD panels.

Under the agreement, Samsung will acquire all of Sony’s shares of S-LCD Corporation (“S-LCD”), the two companies’ LCD panel manufacturing joint venture, making S-LCD a wholly owned subsidiary of Samsung. In consideration for the share transfer, cash consideration of approximately KRW 1.08 trillion^* will be paid to Sony by Samsung. Concurrently, the two companies have entered into a new strategic agreement for the supply and purchase of LCD panels with a goal of enhancing the competitiveness of both companies. The agreement also allows Sony and Samsung to continue cooperative engineering efforts focused on LCD panel technology.

For Sony, this transaction will enable it to monetize its shares in S-LCD and aims to secure a flexible and steady supply of LCD panels from Samsung, based on market prices and without the responsibility and costs of operating a manufacturing facility. With whole ownership of S-LCD, Samsung anticipates heightened flexibility, speed and efficiency in both panel production and business operations.

Established in April 2004, S-LCD has continued to deliver advanced and cost-competitive LCD panels to both of its parent companies, contributing to the expansion of the respective parties’ TV businesses, and the large-sized LCD TV market overall. However, LCD panel and TV market conditions have now changed. In order to respond to such challenging conditions and to strengthen their respective market competitiveness, the two companies have agreed to shift to a new LCD panel business alliance.

The share transfer and payment are targeted to close by the end of January 2012, subject to necessary approvals from regulatory authorities.

As a result of this transaction, a non-cash impairment loss of approximately JPY 66 billion is expected to be incurred by Sony in the third quarter of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2012, due to the reevaluation of its S-LCD shares. This loss includes an impact from the fluctuation of exchange rate. Despite this one-time loss, Sony estimates that the transaction will result in substantial savings on and after January 1, 2012 in respect of costs associated with its procurement of LCD panels. The current estimate of the yearly savings in respect of such costs is approximately JPY 50 billion, compared to LCD panel procurement costs estimated for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2012. Neither the one-time loss nor the estimated cost savings were included in Sony’s forecast of consolidated financial results for the current fiscal year ending March 31, 2012, announced on November 2, 2011. Sony is currently reevaluating this forecast, taking into account this transaction and other factors that might affect its full year FY2011 consolidated financial results forecast.

Facts about S-LCD

Established

:April 26, 2004

Capital

:KRW 3.3 Trillion

(Samsung Electronics: 50% plus 1 share, Sony: 50% minus 1 share)

 

Representative

:Donggun Park, CEO

Location

:Tangjeong, Chung Cheong Nam-Do, South Korea

Production Items

:7th and 8th generation Amorphous TFT LCD

*Note: The final amount of such payment will be determined based on S-LCD’s financial statements as of the end of December 2011.

This post originally appeared on BGR: The Three Biggest Letters In Tech.com

Nuance announced on Tuesday that it plans to acquire Vlingo, a voice-to-text and voice recognition technology firm that was once the subject of a Nuance lawsuit. Nuance senior manager Mike Thompson said the decision was made after his company realized there’s a $5 billion market opportunity as demand increases for voice engine products such as Apple’s Siri voice engine, which is powered in part by Nuance technology. “Inspired by the introduction of services such as Apple’s Siri and our own Dragon Go!, virtually every mobile and consumer electronics company on the planet is looking for ways to integrate natural, conversational voice interactions into their mobile products, applications, and services,” Mike Thompson, Senior Vice President and General Manager, of Nuance Mobile said. “By acquiring Vlingo, we are able to accelerate the pace of innovation to meet this demand.” The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Nuance’s full press release follows after the break.

Nuance to acquire Vlingo

Burlington, Mass. – December 20, 2011 – Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) announced it has signed an agreement to acquire Vlingo, Inc. Fueled by unprecedented demand for intelligent voice interfaces that combine voice, language understanding and semantic processing, Nuance and Vlingo will combine their deep innovation and R&D expertise to deliver next-generation natural language interfaces across numerous markets and industries.

Consumer interest and demand for virtual assistant and voice-enabled capabilities have exploded in recent months, creating a $5 billion market opportunity that spans phones, tablets, cars, televisions, navigation devices, music players, PCs and more. Both Nuance and Vlingo see an unprecedented appetite for intelligent devices that understand the spoken word and deliver outcomes for consumers and professionals.

“Inspired by the introduction of services such as Apple’s Siri and our own Dragon Go!, virtually every mobile and consumer electronics company on the planet is looking for ways to integrate natural, conversational voice interactions into their mobile products, applications, and services,” said Mike Thompson, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Nuance Mobile.  “By acquiring Vlingo, we are able to accelerate the pace of innovation to meet this demand.”

“Vlingo and Nuance have long shared a similar vision for the power and global proliferation of mobile voice and language understanding. As a result of our complementary research and development efforts, our companies are stronger together than alone. Our combined resources afford us the opportunity to better compete, and offer a powerful proposition to customers, partners and developers,” said Dave Grannan, CEO, Vlingo.

By harnessing the combined expertise in voice, language and multilingual capabilities, Nuance will be able to take advantage of the adoption of intelligent mobile assistants, where consumers, businesses, doctors and patients can engage in more human, natural interactions with devices and systems all over the world.

This post originally appeared on BGR: The Three Biggest Letters In Tech.com

Apple has reportedly completed its acquisition of Israel-based flash memory firm Anobit in a deal worth up to $500 million. Hebrew-language financial newspaper Calcalist on Tuesday claimed that a deal had been reached after reporting earlier this month that Apple was in late-stage talks to buy the fabless chip maker. Apple has not confirmed the acquisition. Anobit’s website says its proprietary technology “significantly improves endurance, performance and cost of flash storage products and systems,” and Apple already uses Anobit’s chips in a number of its mobile devices and notebook computers.

Read

This post originally appeared on BGR: The Three Biggest Letters In Tech.com

Rumors again surfaced on Wednesday suggesting that Nokia plans to sell its smartphone business to Microsoft. Danske Bank, Denmark’s largest bank, issued a report to clients Wednesday morning that said Nokia will sell its smartphone division to Microsoft during the first half of 2012. Danske raised its rating on Nokia stock to Buy from Hold, and shares rose more than 3% on the news. Similar rumors first surfaced in May when an industry insider said Nokia and Microsoft were about to enter negotiations for a deal that could close before the end of 2011. Nokia immediately denied the rumor, though subsequent reports indicated that the two companies had in fact entered into discussions. ”We put these rumors to rest a long time ago,” a Nokia spokesperson said in response to Danske Bank’s new report.

This post originally appeared on BGR: The Three Biggest Letters In Tech.com

Broadcom announced on Monday that it will acquire NetLogic Microsystems for $3.7 billion and current NetLogic shareholders will receive $50 per share owned. “This transaction delivers on all fronts for Broadcom’s shareholders — strategic fit, leading-edge technology and significant financial update,” Broadcom president and CEO Scott McGregor, said. “With NetLogic Microsystems, Broadcom is acquiring a leading multi-core embedded processor solution, market leading knowledge-based processors, and unique digital front-end technology for wireless base stations that are key enablers for the next generation infrastructure build-out. Broadcom is now better positioned to meet growing customer demand for integrated, end-to-end communications and processing platforms for network infrastructure.” The proposed acquisition still needs approval from domestic and foreign regulators but is expected to close during the first half of 2012. Read on for the full press release.

Broadcom to Acquire NetLogic Microsystems, Inc., a Leader in Network Communications Processors

Combination to Deliver Seamless End-to-End Network Infrastructure Platforms

IRVINE and SANTA CLARA, Calif., Sept. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq: BRCM), a global innovation leader in semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications, and NetLogic Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: NETL), a leader in high performance intelligent semiconductor solutions for next generation networks, today announced they have entered into a definitive merger agreement.  Under the agreement, NetLogic Microsystems shareholders will receive $50 per share in a transaction of approximately $3.7 billion, net of cash assumed.

The acquisition meaningfully extends Broadcom’s infrastructure portfolio with a number of critical new product lines and technologies, including knowledge-based processors, multi-core embedded processors, and digital front-end processors, each of which offers industry-leading performance and capabilities.  The combination enables Broadcom to deliver best-in-class, seamlessly-integrated network infrastructure platforms to its customers, reducing both their time-to-market and their development costs.

The transaction has been approved by the Broadcom and NetLogic Microsystems boards of directors and is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of domestic and foreign regulatory clearances and the approval of NetLogic Microsystems’ stockholders.  The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2012.  Broadcom currently expects the acquisition to be accretive to earnings per share by approximately $0.10 on a non-GAAP basis in 2012.

“This transaction delivers on all fronts for Broadcom’s shareholders — strategic fit, leading-edge technology and significant financial upside,” said Scott McGregor, Broadcom’s President and CEO.  ”With NetLogic Microsystems, Broadcom is acquiring a leading multi-core embedded processor solution, market leading knowledge-based processors, and unique digital front-end technology for wireless base stations that are key enablers for the next generation infrastructure build-out. Broadcom is now better positioned to meet growing customer demand for integrated, end-to-end communications and processing platforms for network infrastructure.”

Mr. McGregor added, “Today’s transaction is consistent with Broadcom’s strategic portfolio review process and with our focus on value creation through disciplined capital allocation while delivering best-in-class platforms for customers in the fastest growing segments of the communications industry.”

“This is a strong win for customers, for shareholders and for NetLogic Microsystems employees,” said Ron Jankov, NetLogic Microsystems President and CEO. “Our industry-leading product portfolio will benefit from access to Broadcom’s broad set of leading-edge technologies, tools, resources and eco-system, which will enable the combined company to offer a complete and integrated platform for our customers’ next generation designs.  Our employees will benefit from the strong cultural alignment with Broadcom, and from joining forces with an equally aggressive and energetic organization with the same relentless focus on engineering excellence and innovation.”

Broadcom today also reiterated its business outlook for the third quarter of 2011.  Broadcom expects revenue around the middle of the previously-guided range of $1.9 billion and $2.0 billion, GAAP product gross margins of flat to up slightly and GAAP research & development and selling, general and administrative expenses of flat to down $10 million in the third quarter of 2011.  By the end of the third quarter, Broadcom also expects to have approximately $4.2 billion in cash and cash equivalents on hand, up from approximately $3.8 billion at the end of the second quarter.

Broadcom and NetLogic Microsystems will conduct a conference call with analysts and investors to discuss Broadcom’s proposed acquisition of NetLogic Microsystems today at 5:00am Pacific Time (8:00am Eastern Time).  Both companies will broadcast the conference call via webcast over the Internet.  To listen to the webcast, please visit the Investors section of either the Broadcom or NetLogic Microsystems websites at www.broadcom.com/investors and investors.netlogicmicro.com. The webcast will be recorded and available for replay, within 48 hours after the event, until 10:00 p.m. Pacific Time on October 12 2011.

This post originally appeared on BGR: The Three Biggest Letters In Tech.com

Following recent rumblings surrounding discontent atop Yahoo’s executive chain, the struggling Internet company fired its CEO Carol Bartz. In the same stroke, Yahoo! also revealed that it is for sale. News broke Tuesday night that former chief executive Carol Bartz sent an email to the entire Yahoo organization. In her brief note, she stated that Yahoo’s chairman of the board had fired her — over the phone, no less. Yahoo confirmed the news, stating that Chief Financial Officer Tim Morse would step in as interim CEO while the company searches for a new chief. Following the news, a Yahoo employee speaking with The Wall Street Journal also confirmed that the company would be open to selling itself. “Yahoo is open to selling itself to the right bidder,” the Journal wrote. No additional details were provided. Carol Bartz’s full email to Yahoo staff follows below.

From: “Carol Bartz”
To: “all-worldwide@yahoo-inc.com”

Subject: Goodbye

To all,

I am very sad to tell you that I’ve just been fired over the phone by Yahoo’s Chairman of the Board. It has been my pleasure to work with all of you and I wish you only the best going forward.

Carol

Read

This post originally appeared on BGR: The Three Biggest Letters In Tech.com

Following rumors that Samsung was considering a purchase of Hewlett-Packard’s PC business — rumors that Samsung would later deny — DigiTimes is having another go at this potential unholy union. This time around, however, the site claims Samsung is eying HP’s webOS platform instead of its PC business. DigiTimes on Monday reported that Samsung has hired HP’s ex-vice president of PSG marketing Raymond Wah to head up Samsung’s PC business. The report goes on to claim that Samsung is also “considering purchasing webOS to compete head on against Apple and Google, according to sources from notebook players.” The South Korea-based electronics giant is clearly having issues with Android right now. Despite Google’s OS having helped Samsung climb to the No. 2 spot among global smartphone vendors, it also brought with it a flurry of patent-related lawsuits from Apple and other companies. Google just announced its intention to acquire Motorola for $12.5 billion, however, and this purchase is intended in part to help the company defend itself and Android partners against patent complaints from Apple, Microsoft and other combatants in the patent wars. Beyond that, Samsung also has its own in-house smartphone platform, bada, which is seeing success in the Asian market. Samsung declined to comment.

Read

This post originally appeared on BGR: The Three Biggest Letters In Tech.com

While Michael Dell laughs it up on Twitter, a new report suggests that Samsung could be preparing to purchase Hewlett-Packard’s PC business, which the company revealed it may soon spin off. According to a new report from DigiTimes, Samsung may be eyeing a purchase of HP’s PC division, which would catapult the South Korea-based electronics giant past Dell and into the No. 1 PC vendor spot globally. The report states that Samsung is currently meeting with various leading manufacturers including Quanta and Compal to investigate outsourcing the production of its own netbook computers. Samsung has held similar meetings in the past to no avail, but anonymous source tell DigiTimes that the company may be particularly motivated this time around as it negotiates a deal to take over HP’s PC business and free up space to build the machines in its own factories. HP announced last week that it may spin off its PC business, but a sale is also possible according to this new report, which suggests that HP’s announcement was “testing the market’s reaction” as the company weighs its options.

Read

This post originally appeared on BGR: The Three Biggest Letters In Tech.com

Woh. HP on Thursday announced that it is putting an abrupt end to its efforts with webOS. The company says it will “discontinue operations for webOS devices, specifically the TouchPad and webOS phones. HP will continue to explore options to optimize the value of webOS software going forward.” The news comes just ahead of the company’s third-quarter earnings report. HP also confirmed that it may spin off its PC business and that it is currently in talks with Autonomy regarding “a possible business combination,” as was reported earlier on Thursday. HP acquired the webOS platform in 2010 as part of its $1.2 billion Palm buy. Since then, the company has launched a single tablet, the TouchPad, and two smartphones, the HP Pre2 and the HP Veer. The company’s full press release follows below.

HP Confirms Discussions with Autonomy Corporation plc Regarding Possible Business Combination; Makes Other Announcements

PALO ALTO, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–HP (NYSE: HPQ) today commented on the recent announcement by Autonomy Corporation plc (LSE: AU.L). HP confirms that it is in discussions with Autonomy regarding a possible offer for the company.

HP also reported that it plans to announce that its board of directors has authorized the exploration of strategic alternatives for its Personal Systems Group (PSG). HP will consider a broad range of options that may include, among others, a full or partial separation of PSG from HP through a spin-off or other transaction.

In addition, HP reported that it plans to announce that it will discontinue operations for webOS devices, specifically the TouchPad and webOS phones. HP will continue to explore options to optimize the value of webOS software going forward.

HP today announced preliminary results for the third fiscal quarter 2011, with revenue of $31.2 billion compared with $30.7 billion one year ago.

In the third quarter, preliminary GAAP diluted earnings per share (EPS) was $0.93 and non-GAAP diluted EPS was $1.10, compared with third quarter fiscal 2010 GAAP diluted EPS of $0.75 and non-GAAP diluted EPS of $1.08. Non-GAAP diluted EPS estimates exclude after-tax costs related primarily to the amortization of purchased intangible assets of approximately $0.17 per share and $0.33 per share in the third quarter of fiscal 2011 and fiscal 2010, respectively.

For the fourth fiscal quarter of 2011, HP estimates revenue of approximately $32.1 billion to $32.5 billion, GAAP diluted EPS in the range of $0.44 to $0.55, and non-GAAP diluted EPS in the range of $1.12 to $1.16. Non-GAAP diluted EPS guidance excludes after-tax costs of approximately $0.61 to $0.68 per share, related primarily to restructuring and shutdown costs associated with webOS devices, the amortization and impairment of purchased intangibles, restructuring charges and acquisition-related charges.

HP estimates full-year FY11 revenue will be approximately $127.2 billion to $127.6 billion, down from its previous estimate of $129 billion to $130 billion. FY11 GAAP diluted EPS is expected to be in the range of $3.59 to $3.70, down from its previous estimate of at least $4.27, and FY11 non-GAAP diluted EPS is expected to be in the range of $4.82 to $4.86, down from its previous estimate of at least $5.00. FY11 non-GAAP diluted EPS estimates exclude after-tax costs of approximately $1.16 to 1.23 per share, related primarily to restructuring and shutdown costs associated with webOS devices, the amortization and impairment of purchased intangibles, restructuring charges and acquisition-related charges.

HP will host a conference call with the financial community today at 2 p.m. PT / 5 p.m. ET to discuss these announcements well as HP’s third quarter 2011 financial results. The call is accessible via an audio webcast at www.hp.com/investor/2011q3webcast.

This post originally appeared on BGR: The Three Biggest Letters In Tech.com

Early Monday morning, Google announced that it will acquire Motorola for $12.5 billion. Google CEO Larry Page explained the acquisition will help bolster the tech giant’s patent portfolio and that his company will continue to “work with all [of its partners] to deliver outstanding user experiences.” While it may seem that Motorola will now have the upper hand in creating Android smartphones, execs from Samsung, Sony Ericsson, HTC, and LG have all issued statements in support of the acquisition. “We welcome today’s news, which demonstrates Google’s deep commitment to defending Android, its partners, and the ecosystem,” J.K. Shin, president of Samsung’s Mobile Communications division said. “I welcome Google’s commitment to defending Android and its partners,” Sony Ericsson president and CEO Bert Nordberg said. “We welcome the news of today’s acquisition, which demonstrates that Google is deeply committed to defending Android, its partners, and the entire ecosystem,” HTC’s CEO Peter Chou added. “We welcome Google’s commitment to defending Android and its partners,” LG’s president and CEO Jong-Seok Park said. The deal should certainly help Google defend Motorola, Samsung and HTC in their ongoing patent battles with Apple and other companies, though it remains to be seen how the acquisition might affect the Android ecosystem in the long run.

This post originally appeared on BGR: The Three Biggest Letters In Tech.com

Mobile messaging solutions provider, Synchronica, today announced it has conditionally agreed to acquire Nokia’s operator branded messaging business, which was started when the latter acquired Oz Communications in 2008. With the deal, Synchronica will acquire Nokia’s contracts with 10 Tier One carriers in North America as well as Nokia’s Email, IM and Social Networking gateway, client software and associated patents. The two companies will also enter into a long-term deal, where Synchronica will develop and maintain these messaging services on Nokia’s Series 40 and Symbian devices. Approximately 250 employees, externals and contractors, are planned to transfer from Nokia to Synchronica. Hit the jump below for the complete press release.

Synchronica to Acquire Nokia’s Operator Branded Messaging Business

Royal Tunbridge Wells, UK – 30 June 2011 -Synchronica plc, the emerging markets leader in next-generation mobile messaging services, today announced the conditional agreement to acquire Nokia’s Operator Branded Messaging (OBM) business, which provides white-label mobile Email and Instant Messaging (IM) services across a wide range of devices to operators in North America.

The acquisition will provide Synchronica with a successful and complementary mobile messaging business and a strong foothold in the strategically important North American operator market. Combined with more than 80 existing carrier contracts in Europe, Latin America, Africa, Russia and Asia, Synchronica aims to become the global leader in next-generation mobile messaging. With Nokia’s assignment of ten operator contracts in North America, Synchronica’s total addressable market across all operator customers worldwide will extend to 1.8 billion end-users.

The terms of the acquisition include an assignment of mobile operator contracts as well as source code of the related Nokia Messaging client and server software. As part of the deal, Synchronica and Nokia will enter into a long-term relationship in which Synchronica will provide the messaging software which Nokia will continue to preload on Nokia Series 40 phones. Synchronica will assume responsibility for development, maintenance and support of the Nokia Messaging software shipping with millions of Nokia devices and the gateway functionality for both Series 40 and Symbian devices. Approximately 250 employees, externals and contractors, are planned to transfer from Nokia to Synchronica.

The 10 North American carrier contracts planned to be transferred to Synchronica include tier-one carriers such as AT&T, Bell Canada, Rogers Wireless, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless, with more than 6 million users actively using the Email and/or IM service.

The acquired messaging platform complements Synchronica’s flagship, carrier-grade Mobile Gateway messaging infrastructure software. Synchronica plans to continue to develop the acquired messaging platform and to merge both products to create a superior solution with significantly enhanced functionality.

Synchronica Mobile Gateway provides operators and device manufacturers with next-generation messaging services including push email, instant messaging, and social networking. Mobile Gateway 6 features Pre-RCS Unified Messaging capabilities, a presence-enabled address book, an ultra-lightweight J2ME client, support for xHTML browsers, and advanced document transcoding capabilities.

Nokia’s Operator Branded Messaging technology enables mobile operators to affordably deliver an operator-branded email experience on mobile devices via an easy to-use interface. MSN Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail, AOL, Google mail/Gmail and multiple other portal/ISP email services are all supported via a single client on a mobile device. Similarly to email, multiple IM accounts, such as GoogleTalk, ICQ, Yahoo! Messenger, MSN Messenger, AOL and others are accessible via the IM clients.

Synchronica’s CEO, Carsten Brinkschulte added: “This acquisition marks a key milestone for Synchronica as we move closer to our goal of becoming the leading global player for next-generation mobile messaging. Nokia’s successful and highly complementary Operator Branded Messaging business will at a stroke transform Synchronica’s scale, profitability and geographic scope. We look forward to forging successful, long-term partnerships with the carrier customers in North America for providing mass-market, Operator Branded Messaging services, as well as with Nokia for ongoing development and support of the Nokia Messaging Services.”

Nokia CEO Stephen Elop once again addressed rumors of a possible sale of Nokia’s phone business. Rumors emerged on Wednesday suggesting Samsung was preparing to bid on Nokia’s cell phone division, but Elop addressed them on Thursday while speaking to The Wall Street Journal. Elop insisted that the rumors are “completely groundless.” The CEO continued, “Nokia is not for sale.” While Elop has been steady with his message, there is of course wiggle room in his choice of words. Neither the initial report suggesting a deal had been struck with Microsoft nor the subsequent Samsung rumor suggested that Nokia, as a company, was up for sale. Instead, these reports — at least one of which is well-sourced — suggest Nokia may be shopping a portion of its business; specifically, the cell phone division, which has been spiraling downward as Nokia’s market share diminishes rapidly.

Read

This post originally appeared on BGR.com