Microsoft is slowly unwinding its disastrous acquisition of Nokia’s mobile phone business with an announcement early Wednesday morning that it had sold its entry-level phone assets to FIH Mobile Ltd., a subsidiary of Hon Hai/Foxconn Technology Group, and HMD Global Oy for $350 million.

The deal will see Microsoft hand over the rights to use the Nokia brand, feature phone software, services, care network, assets, customer contracts, and critical supply agreements; some 4,500 employees currently working for Microsoft will also be transferred to FIH Mobile, according to a press release published by the company.

Microsoft’s feature phone business includes Asha, Series 40, and Nokia X basic handsets, although the majority of the business has been on hold since massive job cuts back in 2014; the sale of the division does not affect Microsoft’s struggling Windows 10 mobile business and the company said it would continue to support Lumia phones and Windows Phone devices from partners including Acer, Alcatel, HP, Trinity, and VAIO.

Nokia return

Where the sale gets interesting is with the ownership structure of the buyer, and although the name HMD Global Oy may mean nothing to most people, the Oy is the give away as it’s roughly the equivalent of Inc. for a Finnish company name, Finland being the home of Nokia itself.

In a separate press release, Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia never ceased to exist versus selling off most of its mobile business to Microsoft) wrote that it had come to an agreement with HMD Global to create a new generation of Nokia-branded mobile phones and tablets.

The two announcements are not coincidental either; from the media release:

HMD has been founded to provide a focused, independent home for a full range of Nokia-branded feature phones, smartphones and tablets. To complete its portfolio of Nokia branding rights, HMD announced today that it has conditionally agreed to acquire from Microsoft the rights to use the Nokia brand on feature phones, and certain related design rights.

The short version is that Nokia by proxy, and in conjunction with Foxconn, bought the rights to its core mobile manufacturing business back, complete with the ability to re-enter the market using its own name.

History shows that Nokia failed to adapt to the emergence of smartphones, and when it tried to it mistakenly went with Windows Phone instead of Android. Yet the Nokia name is still fondly remembered by millions worldwide, and now that they have a good percentage of their phone manufacturing base back, we may see a new major competitor emerge in the smartphone space in the coming years.

Welcome back Nokia, you’ve been sorely missed.

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