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Manufacturers
April 27, 2016
Purchase would signal mobile network equipment maker’s first move into the market for digital products that monitor health
Nokia has announced plans to acquire connected health company Withings for ‚¬170 million (£131.7 million).
The transaction is expected to close in Q3, subject to regulatory approvals, with purchased firm becoming part of the mobile network equipment maker’s Nokia Technologies Business.
Withings was founded by chairman Eric Carreel and CEO Cedric Hutchings in 2008 and is headquartered in France, employing around 200 people across locations in Paris, Cambridge, the US and Hong Kong.
Its product portfolio includes activity trackers, weighing scales, thermometers, blood pressure monitors, home and baby monitors, all of which are complemented by an ecosystem of more than 100 compatible apps.
Tapping the opportunity
Nokia president and CEO Rajeev Suri said the acquisition will further strengthen its place in the Internet of Things (IoT) market, enabling it to address a large audience.
“We have said consistently that digital health was an area of strategic interest to Nokia, and we are now taking concrete action to tap the opportunity in this large and important market,
“With this acquisition, Nokia is strengthening its position in the Internet of Things in a way that leverages the power of our trusted brand, fits with our company purpose of expanding the human possibilities of the connected world, and puts us at the heart of a very large addressable market where we can make a meaningful difference in peoples’ lives.”