Nokia ends a digital health misadventure with sale of business back to Withings cofounder

Two years after Nokia decided to acquire Withings for $192.3 million to grow a digital health business, it has sold the company back to Withings cofounder and chairman Éric Carreel. The move follows a strategic review in February and illustrates some of the pitfalls with growth by acquisition, particularly for a company that was relatively new to digital health and has had a steady stream of layoffs in recent years. Although Nokia had sought to integrate Withings business with Nokia Technologies’ preventive health and patient care teams, digital health accounted for a very small portion of the company’s revenues. Last year, Nokia announced a write-down of $164 million on the assets from the deal, The Verge noted, suggesting they had paid too much for the business.