Nokia sells Vertu luxury smartphone brand

Nokia logoAlong with its management changes and restructuring announced today, Nokia also announced that it had sold its Vertu luxury mobile phone brand to European private equity group EQT.

“With its strong brand, undisputed category leadership and attractive growth outlook, Vertu fits well with EQT VI’s investment strategy. EQT VI is excited about the opportunity to develop Vertu as a standalone company and plans to drive the development of the luxury mobile phone category through significant investments in retail expansion, marketing and product development,” said Jan Ståhlberg, Partner at EQT Partners, Investment Advisor to EQT VI.

Nokia did not report Vertu’s financial results separately but EQT revealed that it had sales of &euro266 million (about US$330 million) in 2011.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed but Nokia will retain a 10% share in Vertu.

Read more: Nokia and EQT