Psion waves goodbye to Symbian shares
Nokia now has controlling stake in mobile operating system
Psion shareholders have approved the sale of the company's 31 per cent stake in Symbian to mobile phone giant Nokia.
The deal will allow Nokia to take a 63 per cent controlling stake in the Symbian mobile operating system.
The decision came last week at an Extraordinary General Meeting called by Psion. It was opposed by Phoenix Asset Management, the company's biggest investor.
Psion has invested £29m in Symbian since its creation, but it estimates that proceeds from the sale will exceed £135m.
Alistair Crawford, chief executive of Psion, said: "The task now is to grow the Psion Teklogix business."
Psion Teklogix makes hand-held PCs for mobile computing and wireless data collection. The company last week unveiled its rugged Workabout Pro device for use in factories and retail environments.
Analyst firm Ovum raised doubts about whether Symbian would remain vendor-neutral after Psion's share sale.
Jessica Figueras, senior analyst at Ovum, said: "If Nokia was to gain a majority share of Symbian it would not necessarily be a good thing for the operating platform.
"There has always been a suspicion that Nokia was a back-seat driver. Symbian has done well to show neutrality until now."