Nokia to buy Intellisync for around US$430mln

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Mobile giant Nokia said on Wednesday it had signed a deal to buy wireless messaging and email firm Intellisync to boost its position in the corporate mobile email market.

Nokia, the world's largest cell phone maker, said the deal would give it the industry's most complete line-up of products and services for business mobile email and a broader base of customers.

The Finnish firm said it would pay US$5.25 for each Intellisync share, giving the company an implied enterprise value of about US$430 million.

Analysts said the deal was small but strategically important for Nokia as it aims to sell more phones to business users who want to be able to use their email on the move.

Nokia launched a system earlier this year designed to allow workers at almost any level to send and receive email from their handsets, in an effort to make it more cost-effective and available on a wider range of phones.

"The deal fits Nokia's strategy hand-in-glove," said Hannu Rauhala, an analyst at Opstock in Helsinki.

"Nokia has talked a lot about a software focus, and this creates a clearly good platform," he said, adding that the deal would help Nokia maintain and update software as more sophisticated smartphones are sold.

Analysts said the price appeared a little on the high side at about six times sales but that was not an issue for the Nokia.

"Nokia clearly just wants new technology and a bigger selection to offer on its Enterprise unit, and that's why they are buying Intellisync...It is a focused acquisition that strengthens the Enterprise side, which is why I think it (the deal) is OK," said a Helsinki-based analyst who declined to be identified.

Nokia said it expected the Intellisync transaction to be completed in the first quarter of 2006.

The company is one of many competing to build on the success of the popular Blackberry line of email pagers and phones from Canada's Research in Motion.

Additional reporting by Laura Vinha.