Rumors that Nokia might take a look at purchasing Palm resurfaced today, giving Palm stock an eight percent bump. It’s a deal we’ve been hearing about for months, though not always with Nokia as the buyer. There have also been rumors that Dell or Microsoft could nab the struggling mobile company.
Let’s consider the Nokia thing for a minute, though. I would be amazed to see it drop the estimated $2 billion to purchase Palm, especially since Palm isn’t exactly going gangbusters. Stock dipped 30% after this same deal failed to mature in September. So why would Nokia spend so much just to acquire the company, not to mention the marketing that Palm needs to stay alive, when the Finnish handset manufacturer is bleeding market share to Apple every day? It just doesn’t make sense.
Palm’s struggling stock is a clear reminder that the company needs help, but I don’t think it would bring enough value to any of the potential buyers to make a deal reasonable. If anything, Nokia could license WebOS for a facelift on a few devices, but even Palm’s operating system seems to have an expiration date looming in the near future.
Tags: buy palm, microsoft, nokia, palm, palm acquisition, palm pixi, palm pre, palm sold, pre release