Nokia has agreed to sell its Qt software technologies and Qt business to Finnish software firm Digia, which has handled licensing of the open source software for a little over a year.
Digia plans to port the software to Android, iOS and Windows 8 platforms once the transaction is completed, which is likely to happen quickly given the firm is predicting a positive impact on its 2012 revenue. The deal includes 125 Nokia staff in Germany and Norway, who will transfer over to the software company.
“By adding this world class organization to our existing team we plan to build the next generation leading cross-platform development environment.” says Tommi Laitinen, SVP of international products at Digia.
Nokia acquired the Qt software in 2008, when it bought Trolltech for $153 million (€124 million). The software is used by 450,000 developers worldwide to support UI development.
Sebastian Nyström, head of Nokia Strategy, says the sale will ensure the future of the Qt platform. “Digia's plans to acquire Qt mean that it can continue as a successful open source project and also offer continuing employment for many people in the community.”
Digia plans to steer research and development in a way that will “bring back focus on Qt’s desktop and embedded platform support, while widening the support for mobile operating systems,” Laitinen reveals.