Nokia announced on December 4 that the company had agreed to sell its head office building in Espoo, Finland, for EUR170 million (US$222.9 million).

Following the sale, which is expected to complete by the end of 2012, Nokia will lease back the property on a long-term deal, the Finnish maker said.

A recent IC Insights report revealed that Samsung Electronics and Apple will hold a combined 47% share of the smartphone market in 2012, while Nokia is expected to suffer a double-digit decline in unit sales. Nokia had once dominated the smartphone market until 2008 and 2009, when the Finnish company saw its share fall below 40% due to increased competition from suppliers targeting consumers with interactive touchscreen handsets that are capable of running multimedia applications, IC Insights noted.

Nokia's smartphone shipments are forecast to fall 55% in 2012, with its global market share sliding to only 5%, according to IC Insights. The firm will continue to struggle in the smartphone marketplace in 2013., with shipments likely to post another double-digit decline, said the research firm.

Earlier in 2012, Nokia announced several executive leadership changes. The announcement came on the heels of a company decision to cut up to 10,000 jobs by the end of 2013, as part of its global restructuring plan.

By: DocMemory
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