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Samsung stays mum over Nokia bid rumors

It's no surprise to anyone that Nokia isn't doing too hot these days, but speculation is rising that it might be bought out soon. Could that buyer be Samsung?
Written by Rachel King, Contributor

It's no surprise to anyone that Nokia isn't doing too hot these days, but speculation is rising that it might be bought out soon. Could that buyer be Samsung?

Perhaps, but Samsung is staying quiet for now. According to Dow Jones, Samsung reps have given a terse response to the matter:

"It seems like a market rumor and we don't comment on rumors," a spokesman for the South Korea-based company said.

Nokia already has a partnership in place with Microsoft to develop more Windows Phone 7-powered handhelds, which might already be the last-ditch effort to stay alive. But rumors have swirled that the Redmond, Wash.-based company could be taking over the Finnish mobile phone maker. Turns out those stories weren't true - at least for now.

As for Samsung, it's an interesting theory, but it doesn't quite make sense. Dow Jones cites analysts who cite that there isn't much value for Samsung to buy Nokia while it continues to work on tablets to beat Apple.

Beyond that, one has to ask: does Samsung need Nokia? It's hard to see why. Samsung already develops its own smartphones and tablets. Nokia abandoned Symbian, so it's not like Samsung would be buying it for an operating system when it already has a relationship in place with Google and its Android OS.

Nokia, on the other hand, certainly needs something to give it a boost, which might include being taken over completely if it wants to keep any employees in work.

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