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| Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri |
It seems like everyone is jumping into the health monitoring market these days, and Nokia is no exception. The company is snatching up French company Withings for €170 million ($191 million) to gain ground in digital health.
Through the agreement, Nokia will get its hands on Withings' med tech portfolio, including activity trackers, weighing scales, thermometers, blood pressure monitors and home monitors. Small cap Withings, which has about 200 employees, will be integrated into Nokia's Technologies unit. The business comprises Nokia's patent portfolio and some consumer products.
The companies expect to close the all-cash deal in early Q3 2016, Finland-based Nokia said in a statement.
"We have said consistently that digital health was an area of strategic interest to Nokia, and we are now taking concrete action to tap the opportunity in this large and important market," Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri said in a statement. The deal "leverages the power of our trusted brand, fits with our company purpose of expanding the human possibilities of the connected world, and puts us at the heart of a very large addressable market where we can make a meaningful difference in people's lives," Suri said.
A deal for Withings will help Nokia compete with some bigger names on the patient monitoring block. Qualcomm ($QCOM), a leader in the field, is already making strides with its digital health tech. The company recently struck a deal with UnitedHealthcare ($UNH) to develop connected health services for the insurer's employer wellness program.
Nokia hit $5.95 in premarket trading upon news of the deal.
- read the statement