Did Microsoft just pay $7.2B for a new boss?

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/microsoft-gets-nokias-phone-business-maybe-new-boss-8C11063110

Microsoft's $7.2 billion deal to buy Nokia's mobile phone business may be as much about hardware as it is about one man, Stephen Elop, and whether he's being groomed to take over the top job being vacated by the retiring Steve Ballmer.

The acquisition will be a homecoming for Elop, who'll be stepping down as Nokia CEO and coming back to lead Microsoft's devices group. Elop once headed the business division there, including the rainmaking Office suite, before he left three years ago to run Finland-based Nokia. The devices division includes Windows Phone, Xbox, and the Surface tablets.

The move puts Elop into the race for the top spot at Microsoft as the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant tries to play catch-up with Apple and Samsung, who are far ahead in the mobile phone business. But Elop’s spotty track record at Nokia, which was once the dominant player in the business, raises questions about whether he’s the right person to combine two struggling companies into one potent rival for the mobile big dogs, some analysts say.

The deal between Microsoft and Nokia, announced Tuesday, comes less than two weeks after Ballmer shocked the tech world by announcing that he would retire within 12 months. It also comes two years after the Finnish company tethered its mobile fate to Microsoft’s Windows Phone software.

Several names have been bandied about as Ballmer’s possible successor, among them: Steven Sinofsky, former president of the Windows Division; Scott Forstall, former senior vice president of iOS software at Apple; and even founder Bill Gates. Some analysts have said that Microsoft, seeking new blood to revitalize the company, may look further afield for a new boss.

But the betting is now on Elop. Oddsmaker Ladbrokes had set the odds at 2-to-1 that he would be chosen, even before news of the deal, the International Business Times reported.