Nokia is set to acquire Comptel Corp, a Finnish software company specializing in telecommunications, through a cash tender offer that values Comptel at approximately 347 million euros ($370 million).
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Comptel is a listed Finnish company, founded in 1986, with over 800 employees in 32 countries. It processes 20 percent of world's mobile usage data every day. In 2015, Comptel's revenue was 98 million euros with an 8.7 percent operating margin. The company's major sites are in Finland, Bulgaria, Malaysia, India, the UK and Norway.
Nokia said on Thursday that it signed a transaction agreement, under which the mobile handset maker, through its wholly owned indirect subsidiary Nokia Solutions and Networks, will undertake a voluntary public cash tender offer to purchase all of the issued and outstanding shares and option rights in Comptel that are not owned by Comptel or any of its subsidiaries.
The price offered for each share validly tendered will be 3.04 euros in cash, which represents a premium of around 29 percent compared to the closing price of the shares on Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd. on February 8.
The acquisition is part of Nokia's strategy to create a standalone software business by expanding and strengthening its software portfolio and go-to-market capabilities with additional sales capacity and a strategic partner network.
Comptel would bolster Nokia's software portfolio by adding critical solutions for catalogue-driven service orchestration and fulfillment, intelligent data processing, customer engagement and agile service monetization.
The acquisition is not expected to have a material effect on the operations and business locations of, or on the number of jobs at, Comptel.
The board of directors of Comptel has unanimously decided to recommend that the shareholders and holders of option rights accept the tender offer. The offer period is expected to commence on or around February 27, 2017, and to run for approximately four weeks.
The tender offer is subject to, among others, approvals by the relevant regulatory authorities.
