Nokia to sell head office to Exilion Capital Oy for $222 mn

Nokia, once the world's largest mobile handset maker yesterday said that it will sell its head office building in Espoo, Finland,  to Exilion Capital Oy for €170 million ($222 million) and lease back the premises from the new owner.

The struggling company's chief financial officer Timo Ihamuotila said in a statement, ''We had a comprehensive sales process with both Finnish and foreign investors and we are very pleased with this outcome. As we have said before, owning real estate is not part of Nokia's core business and when good opportunities arise we are willing to exit these types of non-core assets."

Nokia, which had been operating in the 48,000 square metre building since 1997, said that it has secured a long-term lease that will see it occupy the premises for a number of years to come.

Nokia expects to close the sale before the end of this year.

Exilion Capital is owned by four Finnish institutions specialising in the management of real estate private equity funds.

Mutual Insurance Company Pension-Fennia, Keva, Etera Mutual Pension Insurance Company and Tapiola Mutual Pension Insurance Company had set up Exilion Capital in 2005 to invest mainly in commercial and residential properties in Finland's growth centres.