Nokia - Selling phone business to Microsoft painful

Outgoing CEO Stephen Elop, who'll head back to Microsoft with the $7.2 billion acquisition, says Nokia didn't have enough clout on its own to rise again in the mobile market.

photo - Stephen Elop, the outgoing CEO of Nokia and leader-to-be of Microsoft's phone business, speaks at a press conference in Finland.

The decision to sell Nokia's devices and services division to Microsoft for $7.2 billion was a difficult choice, but market dynamics meant it was the only practical one, the Finnish company's outgoing CEO Stephen Elop and interim CEO Risto Siilasmaa said Tuesday.