Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)‘s roughly $7.2 billion deal for Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK)‘s handset business seems to nudge Stephen Elop closer to the throne at the world’s software giant.
It wouldn’t be a surprise. Elop was the early favorite in this race by most accounts, long before Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) decided to cut another big check this morning.
Some are even daring to compare this to Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)‘s decision to buy NeXT in 1996, a move that returned Steve Jobs to his company. It may be fair to compare Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) to Apple now, as this decision all but cements that Windows Phone will be an in-house mobile platform — because no one is going to want to stray from Android to embrace Windows on smartphones outside of Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) now — but this isn’t exactly the acqui-hire that brings the prodigal son back in time for a renaissance, like Apple experienced.
Yes, Elop’s returning to Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) to head up its devices division now. It doesn’t mean that he’s the guy that can turn Microsoft around. Heck, he couldn’t even turn Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) around. Even after today’s pop, the stock is still trading for a little more than half of where it was at when he arrived at Nokia 36 months ago. Some can even rightfully argue that it was Elop’s deal to tie Nokia to Windows Phone that doomed the company’s handset business.
