In December last year, Nokia said it will sell its head office building to real estate investment firm Exilion for 170 million euros (over Rs 1,218 crore). It was not clear if Microsoft would continue with the same arrangement. Nokia had moved in to the landmark complex in the 1990s as it was making inroads in the mobile handset market.

It was here that it gained cult status with devices like Communicator 9000, Nokia 1100 and the N series. The company, which offers telecom equipment and location services as well, retained its market leader position till few years back when it started losing ground to South Korea's Samsung and U.S.-based Apple.

In a bid to recover, Nokia forged a strategic alliance with Microsoft in February 2011 to replace its flagship Symbian operating system with Microsoft's Windows phone operating system. In September this year, Microsoft announced its intent to purchase Nokia's Devices and services business as part of an overall deal totalling $7.17 billion.

The deal has already received shareholders approval and the transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2014, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Nokia CEO Stephen Elop along with other key executives are joining Microsoft as part of the deal.

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