Nokia Headquarters Espoo Finland  has been sold and leased back to Nokia

Nokia has agreed to sell the main headquarters building in Espoo Finland for 170 million Euros according to the finnish newspaper. However the company may not relocate itself by leasing the building back. Earlier the company had to shut down various factories across the globe, downsized the employees and outsourced the production to asian countries. Nokia Company is still in the tough transition period which is lead by Mr. Stephen Elop (Nokia’s Current C.E.O). According to a poll, 88% people want Stephen Elop to be sacked out from Nokia.

UPDATE:

Espoo, Finland – Nokia has agreed to sell and lease back its head office building in Espoo, Finland on a long-term lease to Finland-based Exilion. We expect to complete the sale by the end of 2012. The selling price is EUR 170 million. “We had a comprehensive sales process with both Finnish and foreign investors and we are very pleased with this outcome. As we have said before, owning real estate is not part of Nokia’s core business and when good opportunities arise we are willing to exit these types of non-core assets. We are naturally continuing to operate in our head office building on a long-term basis,” said Timo Ihamuotila, CFO, Nokia. Note to editors: Nokia has operated in the building since 1997. The 48,000 m2 building, designed by architect Pekka Helin, is located in Keilaniemi, Espoo, Finland.

The latest move could provide some much needed cash to help Nokia through its transition, with Finnish newspaper Iltasanomat estimating the headquarters value at around 200-300 million euros ($258-386 million). The sale would represent around a quarter of Nokia’s Q2 total operating loss of €826 million (around $1 billion). Ratings agencies have previously downgraded Nokia to junk status, making it increasingly difficult for the company to acquire credit at reasonable rates. Nokia will be hoping that it can hold on and transition to Windows Phone fully before having to take any more drastic cost cutting exercises.

A Nokia spokesperson has confirmed to the Verge that the firm has no plans to move its headquarters, hinting it would likely lease the building back. “Nokia is re-evaluating all non-core operations, including its real estate,” says a company spokesperson. “As with most companies whose core business is not in owning real estate, it makes common business sense not to tie assets in real estate property but rather invest and focus in its core operations.