Nokia deal won't change Symbian strategy

Symbian's other shareholders could prevent Nokia from increasing its stake in the mobile phone software company to 63 per cent.

Psion has agreed to sell its 31.1 per cent stake in Symbian to Nokia for around £135m. Nokia already owns 32.2 per cent of the company.

But speaking at the 3GSM show in Cannes, David Levin, chief executive of Symbian, explained that even if European regulatory hurdles were overcome, other shareholders could still exercise their right to purchase some of Psion's shares as well.

"This is not a completed deal. It's fair to say that none of the other companies have thrown their hands in," he said.

But even if the deal did go ahead it would not change the company's strategy, he insisted.

"It has no influence. The actual percentage of shares has no bearing on how we do our business and little bearing on the operations of the supervisory board," he said.

Symbian has two boards: a supervisory group made up of nine shareholders and an operational board that controls development work. Nokia currently has two seats on the supervisory board.

Levin added that although Symbian might consider an initial public offering he was "not comfortable" with doing it this year.

See also:

Symbian will remain open, promises Nokia

Mobile maker seeks to allay fears of operating system shareholders  16 Jun 2004

Psion shareholders approve Symbian sale

Nokia to take controlling stake in mobile OS despite opposition  12 Mar 2004

3GSM World Congress

The big players in the global mobile telephony industry gathered in Cannes recently to plot the future of mobile communications.  25 Feb 2004

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