Motorola to flog off Symbian stake

Talks are under way for handset manufacturer to sell its stake in Symbian – and it's Nokia and Psion who want to get their hands on a share of the mobile software company.

Both companies were involved in the founding of Symbian and already own a significant proportion of the business between them, but the deal could see their respective stakes grow substantially, rising to 32 per cent for Nokia and 31 per cent for Psion, who will pay £17.4m for the privilege.

But the sale won't be the end of Motorola and Symbian's relationship - Motorola will remain a licensee in the company. The pair have also a got various joint projects on the way, with the latest third generation Motorola handset, the A920, launched yesterday, powered by the Symbian operating system.

Symbian OS is currently in use in ten handsets shipping in markets around the world, with another in development with nine licensees. While Motorola will continue to use Symbian for its 3G handsets, its main focus for software will be Java.

The deal is still awaiting clearance from the German Federal Cartel Office.