Nokia shares rose sharply on Wednesday, boosted by industry rumours that Chinese computer maker Lenovo may be interested in the struggling Finnish firm. However, Lenovo dismissed such rumours.
Nokia has seen its share price rise more than 50 per cent since hitting an all-time low on July 18, with the shares rising 11 per cent rise on Wednesday after the Lenovo speculation became more widely known, according to Reuters.
However, a Lenovo executive has quashed any market speculation that it was interested in acquiring Nokia. "This must be a joke," Gianfranco Lanci, who runs Lenovo's operations in Europe, Middle East and Africa, told Reuters. "There's nothing ongoing."
The rise in Nokia's share price might also have been triggered by the announcement that CEO Stephen Elop and several directors have purchased shares valued at more than $1 million (€812,000) in the company as a sign of "commitment to Nokia and confidence in our future," the company said, according to Bloomberg.
Elop reportedly increased his stake in the company by 275,000 shares, raising his holding to 425,000 shares, reports Dow Jones Newswires, while Chairman Risto Siilasmaa recently acquired 330,000 shares, taking his holding in the company to more than 730,000 shares.
"Perhaps this is the beginning of a recovery for Nokia." said Jean-Michel Salvador, an analyst at AlphaValue in Paris told Bloomberg. "There is hope that sales might continue to grow also with the release of the new Windows phone."
Of note, the cost of insuring Nokia bonds using credit-default swaps has declined, falling 15 per cent since the record high on July 18, according to Bloomberg data.
Although Nokia reported a loss of €1.41 billion for the second quarter, it told four million Lumia Windows Phone smartphones in the period, twice as much as it did in the first quarter and more than analysts were expecting.
For more:
- see this Reuters article
- see this separate Reuters article
- see this Bloomberg article
- see this Dow Jones Newswires article
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