HELSINKI, Finland-Just two months after launching its own branded wireless e-mail offering, Nokia Corp. is jumping head-first into the space with the $430 million acquisition of Intellisync Corp.
The handset manufacturer Wednesday announced plans to buy the San Jose, Calif.-based developer, offering $5.25 per share in cash for each share of Intellisync. Shares of Intellisync dipped 8 percent to $5.08 on the news in mid-day trading; Nokia’s U.S. shares slid 11 cents to $16.92.
With the move, Nokia looks to become a far more prominent player on the crowded wireless e-mail playground. While Research In Motion Ltd. continues to dominate the space with its BlackBerry devices and platform, a half-dozen smaller players-including Good Technology Inc., Seven Networks Inc., Visto Corp. and Critical Path-are vying to gain traction in the largely untapped market.
Nokia several weeks ago released a low-priced product designed to deliver e-mail to mass market devices; the company hopes to integrate Intellisync technology with its in-house offering to allow business users to connect devices and enterprise applications.
“Enterprises face increasing challenges when it comes to selecting devices, enabling access to e-mail and securing corporate data, while carriers are facing more and more complexity to support these demands,” Nokia’s Mary McDowell said in a prepared statement. “Based on our customers’ needs, we identified the acquisition of Intellisync as the best way to provide solutions to these challenges.”
