Microsoft’s purchase of Nokia is still set to close by the end of March

It’s been almost six months since Microsoft announced its intention to purchase Nokia for $7.2 billion, and today the phone manufacturer reiterated its intention to have the sale complete before this quarter ends. In a press release today, Nokia stressed that an ongoing tax dispute in India over one of the company’s factories wouldn’t affect the closing of Microsoft’s intended purchase.

This statement of confidence comes just a few days after it was revealed that Nokia was petitioning the Indian Supreme Court to reverse a ruling that was initially expected to complicate the deal — however, Nokia has been quick to reiterate that the deal is not in any danger of slipping beyond Q1. Given the statements from new Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella about the importance of mobile going forward, we imagine both companies are eager to get this deal closed as soon as possible without any interference. Nokia’s full statement is below:

Nokia would like to stress that recent developments in India related to ongoing tax proceedings are not expected to affect the timing of the closing nor the material deal terms of the anticipated transaction between Nokia and Microsoft, announced on September 3, 2013.The transaction is still expected to close in the first quarter of 2014, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, irrespective of the proceedings in the Indian tax case.