Nokia shareholders plan opposition to Microsoft deal

An unnamed group nine young Nokia shareholders who have also been employees have released an open letter to the company's other shareholders and institutional investors saying the Microsoft deal is a bad one for Nokia and chief executive Stephen Elop should be replaced.

A group of Nokia shareholders oppose the Nokia-Microsoft partnership. Photo credit: David Meyer

In the letter, the group said it plans to challenge the Nokia-Microsoft partnership and strategy at the company's Annual General Meeting for Shareholders on 3 May. It said it has also developed a 'Plan B' approach that involves not only replacing Elop, but also looks to revamp the company's hiring strategy and eliminate "outdated and bureaucratic R&D practices".

These shareholders said they want to avoid, at all costs, "becoming a poorly differentiated OEM [original equipment manufacturer] with only low margin, commodity products that is unable to attract top software talent and cannot create shareholder value though innovation".

Update on 17 February: The 'Plan B' revolt is a hoax, according to Dow Jones and a post on Twitter. The Twitter message reads: "there are no 'nine young investors', just one very bored engineer who really likes his iPhone."

For more on this ZDNet UK-selected story, see Nokia's Microsoft deal leads to shareholder revolt, call for a "Plan B" on ZDNet.com.