Microsoft is to buy Nokia’s mobile phone business for €5.44bn (£4.6bn/US$7.2bn) and the Finnish firm has said its CEO, Stephen Elop, will join the software company as part of the deal.

Both Nokia, once the undisputed leader in mobile phones, and Microsoft have been struggling to respond to the challenge from smartphone makers such as Apple and Samsung.

Nokia’s share price open 47% higher in Heisinki after Microsoft’s deal.

By Harry