Why Nokia and Research in Motion should Merge to Survive the Onslaught from Google and Apple

Apple and Google taking over the Smartphone Segment

Nokia and Research in Motion (RIMM) have been forced to play catchup in their own Technology segment  to Apple and Google .Nokia has been losing marketshare,brand appeal and pricing power as Google and Apple capture the hearts and minds of the smartphone consumer.Apple has radically changed the mobile industry with the introduction of the iconic iPhone.It is extending its lead by constantly introducing better iterations a like the iPhone 3GS and now the iPhone 4G.Google is also making major inroads through its Android Operating System.Its partners like HTC,Motorola are winning consumers by rapidly introducing great smartphones based on the Android Platform.Despite RIMM and Nokia having a combined 50% marketshare of the world Smartphone market, they are looking like Also-rans rather than market leaders.

RIMM and Nokia have Great Synergies

RIMM and Nokia are tying to fight against the Two Technology Giants but they seem to be fighting a losing war.Nokia has restructured its managment and divisions and even filed patent lawsuits against Apple.RIMM is playing catch up by targetting retail consumer and introducing a new touch smartphone and a tablet.However I don’t think these iniatives will win much success.Nokia is also facing marketshare erosion against small local players in its tradional stronghold – the low end mobile segment.A merger of these two companies will have great syngeristic value and provide some real competition to Google and Apple .Here is a list of their major synergistic strengths.

1. Geography – Nokia is strong in Europe and Asia while RIMM has a big marketshare in North America.Their complementary  distribution networks will help both companies increase volume shipments in their weak geographies
2. Low End and  High End – Nokia is strong in the low-end mobile segment while RIMM has strong technological strength in the smartphone segment.
3. Enterprise and Consumer –  RIMM is extremely popular with Enterprise customers while Nokia’s appeal lies more with Retail Consumers

The valuation of both companies is at  reasonable level,so that the shareholders of either company will not have to pay a huge sum to merge with the other.In summary the RIMM and Nokia marriage makes great sense for both these companies and their shareholders.