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Justin Herrick
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Withings, the French maker of wearables and home automation systems, has been purchased by Nokia for $191 million.
Although absent from producing devices for nearly three years, Nokia is getting back in the game with its latest acquisition.
Ramzi Haidamus, President of Nokia Technologies, said the following:
“Withings shares our vision for the future of digital health and their products are smart, well design and already helping people live healthier lives. Combining their award-winning products and talented people with the world-class expertise and innovation of Nokia Technologies uniquely positions to us to lead the next wave of innovation in digital health.”
Withings’ lineup focuses exclusively on wellness and safety, including wearables and scales.
It is widely believed that Nokia will be using Withings to build its WellCare platform. WellCare would compete with platforms built by Fitbit, Google, Apple, and others. Withings’ hardware expertise and experience in digital health is a smart pairing for Nokia’s platform.
Don’t forget this isn’t the Nokia the world was long familiar with. In September 2013, Microsoft purchased the company’s consumer hardware business for more than $7 billion. It relocated former CEO Stephen Elop to Redmond and left Nokia with a focus on telecommunications. While Microsoft’s push with Windows Phone and Windows 10 Mobile was a failure, Nokia found new life and developed Here Maps — a maps and navigation service now owned by Audi, BMW, and Daimler. That deal supplied them with $3 billion to invest in new technologies following the Alcatel-Lucent acquisition.
It’s still unclear if the Withing’s brand will be phased out for Nokia’s name (or an entirely new one) to be placed on future products and services.
Nokia plans to acquire Withings to accelerate entry into Digital Health
Espoo, Finland – Nokia has announced plans to acquire Withings S.A., a pioneer and leader in the connected health revolution with a family of award-winning digital health products and services to help people all over the world lead healthier, happier and more productive lives. Withings will be part of our Nokia Technologies business.
“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,” said Rajeev Suri, president & CEO of Nokia. “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.”
World Health Organization figures show cardiovascular disease as today’s number one cause of death, with more than a billion adults around the world living with uncontrolled hypertension. Diabetes now affects more than one in twelve adults worldwide, a four-fold increase since 1980. Healthcare is expected to be one of the largest vertical markets in the Internet of Things, with analysts forecasting that mobile health, with a CAGR of 37%, will be the fastest growing health care segment from 2015-2020.
“Withings shares our vision for the future of digital health and their products are smart, well designed and already helping people live healthier lives,” said Ramzi Haidamus, president of Nokia Technologies. “Combining their award-winning products and talented people with the world-class expertise and innovation of Nokia Technologies uniquely positions us to lead the next wave of innovation in digital health.”
The combination of innovative products from Withings and the Digital Health business will also ensure the ongoing renewal of Nokia Technologies’ world class IPR portfolio.
Withings was founded by Chairman Eric Carreel and CEO Cedric Hutchings in 2008 and is headquartered in France, with approximately 200 employees across its locations in Paris, France, Cambridge, US and Hong Kong. Withings’ portfolio of regulated and unregulated products includes activity trackers, weighing scales, thermometers, blood pressure monitors, home and baby monitors and more, and is built on a sophisticated digital health platform, providing insights to empower people to make smarter decisions about the health and wellbeing of themselves and their families. Withings’ own products are complemented by an ecosystem of more than a hundred compatible apps.
“Since we started Withings, our passion has been in empowering people to track their lifestyle and improve their health and wellbeing,” said Cédric Hutchings, CEO of Withings. “We’re excited to join Nokia to help bring our vision of connected health to more people around the world.”
The Nokia brand continues to be recognized, valued and trusted by consumers, built on a heritage of beautifully designed, innovative and reliable technology in the service of people around the world to help real human needs.
The planned transaction values Withings at EUR 170 million and would be settled in cash and is expected to close in early Q3, 2016 subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
Sources:
World Health Organisation: Diabetes fact sheet; Cardiovascular diseases fact sheet; Global Health Observatory data.
P&S Market Research, “Global Digital Health Market Size, Share, Development, Growth and Demand Forecast to 2020.” November 2015
About Nokia Technologies
Nokia Technologies is Nokia’s advanced technology and licensing business. Formed in 2014, TECH builds upon our solid foundation of industry-leading licensing and technology R&D capabilities. By focusing on Digital Health, Digital Media, Brand Licensing, and Patent Licensing, TECH is expanding the human possibilities of the ever-evolving world of technology. In 2015, Nokia Technologies launched OZO, the world’s first virtual reality (VR) camera designed for professionals.
About Nokia
Nokia is a global leader in the technologies that connect people and things. Powered by the innovation of Bell Labs and Nokia Technologies, the company is at the forefront of creating and licensing the technologies that are increasingly at the heart of our connected lives.
With state-of-the-art software, hardware and services for any type of network, Nokia is uniquely positioned to help communication service providers, governments, and large enterprises deliver on the promise of 5G, the Cloud and the Internet of Things.
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