Andre Yoskowitz
30 May 2012 8:43
Last week we reported on Facebook hiring former Apple engineers in an effort to begin creating their own smartphone.
Today, Paul Amsellem, a marketing 'expert' for the Mobile Network Group, has said he predicts Facebook will buy Nokia in the next year on route to creating the 'FacePhone.'
The phone itself will hit the market within 18 months, and will run on Windows Phone 8.
Says Amsellem: "Facebook will launch the FacePhone. And whether it has a blue color and a logo with a big F on it, it will definitely be disruptive. Even at this moment, Facebook doesn't know what it will look like, but they need to do it."
Here is where Amsellem's predictions gets a bit rougher, however. The expert says Facebook will eventually acquire Nokia for $10 billion, or if that falls through, they can acquire RIM (maker of the BlackBerry) for $6 billion. Nokia currently has a value above $10 billion and would almost certainly need to sell at a premium. RIM has a value below $6 billion and is continuing to collapse, so a $6 billion buyout could make sense, if the company could get over its Canadian pride.
"Facebook needs somebody with an understanding of networking, technology, carrier relationships and logistics," adds Amsellem. "They can acquire one of these two players for not a lot of money."
The social networking giant has had a rough start to its time as a public company, with its stock falling 27 percent in less than a week, giving the company a value of $70 billion compared to the $104 billion it started at.