Nokia to sell its troubled luxury brand Vertu to Permira

Apr 30, 2012

Vertu smartphone – Concierge Service

Nokia is likely to sell its luxury arm Vertu, based in the U.K. to  venture capital firm Permira for the equivalent of US$ 265 million, which is on the low end of the initial Vertu valuation we heard about in December.

That is about a year worth of Vertu revenue, according to most estimates, coming from gold-plated phones with sapphire keys, and other luxury adornments. There is a booming market for such handsets in up and coming regions like Asia, so the buyer would probably do fine with Vertu, while Nokia would get a nice cash injection in these restructuring times.

Permira owns other luxury brands such as Valentino and Hugo Boss.