Microsoft and Nokia now expect buyout to close in April

Nokia and Microsoft have announced that their $7.2 billion buyout deal won’t be closing this month after all. The Finnish smartphone manufacturer now expects to complete the sale of its devices and services divisions to Microsoft by the end of April, rather than the end of March insisted upon as recently as last month.

Nokia says it’s still waiting on regulatory approval from antitrust authorities in Asia; the deal has already received the green light from the US Justice Department and the European Commission. Once the buyout goes through, Microsoft will use its new acquisition to design its own smartphones, rather than relying on Nokia to produce its flagship Windows Phone handsets as a third party.