Nokia is about to acquire Montreal, Canada based OZ Communications, a privately held company that delivers access to popular instant messaging and email services on mobile devices.
By acquiring OZ, Nokia will enable easy-to-use, fast access to leading instant messaging and email services, including AOL, Gmail, ICQ, Windows Live Hotmail, Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo!. With more than 5.5 million monthly paid users, OZ’s solutions have been deployed by leading mobile operators on a wide array of mobile device platforms.
As part of the deal, Nokia will continue to work with OZ’s existing OEM partners and mobile operator customers. After the deal is sealed (expected time is Q4 2008), OZ will become part of Nokia’s Services & Software operative unit.