Nokia Acquiring a Push Email Company

Nokia has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Intellisync, a well-known company focused on "push" email software.

The deal is valued at about $430 million. To put this into perspective, that's over $100 more than Access Co., Ltd. paid for PalmSource and the Palm OS.

This underscores the value that many companies put on push email, in which incoming messages are immediately pushed out to the device.

Everybody Wants a Push

All the big makers of handhelds and smartphones are making sure that they have some kind of push email system.

Microsoft has added this service to Exchange Server and Windows Mobile 5.0, Palm, Inc. has licensed RIM's BlackBerry platform, and now Nokia has purchased Intellisync.

Of course, none of these are committing to a single push email solution. Nokia says it will still offer BlackBerry Connect service for its devices, and Intellisync's software is available for a wide variety of platforms.

Financial Details

Under the terms of the agreement, Intellisync stockholders will receive $5.25 per share in cash for each Intellisync common share, giving this deal a value of approximately $430 million or 368 million Euros.

The acquisition is expected to be completed within three to four months, pending regulatory approval, other customary closing conditions, and the approval of Intellisync's shareholders.

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