Microsoft announced on Sunday night that its big Nokia deal is nearing the final stages, but won’t be completed until next month. The company has already received approval from regulatory bodies in 15 markets on five continents, but is awaiting confirmation in “final markets”.

Brad Smith, General Counsel & Executive Vice President, Legal & Corporate Affairs at Microsoft wrote on the company blog:

The completion of this acquisition will mark the first step to bring Microsoft and the Nokia Devices and Services business together. Our acquisition will accelerate our mobile-first, cloud-first imperatives. We’re looking forward to accelerating innovation and market adoption for Windows Phones and introducing the next billion customers to Microsoft services via Nokia mobile phones.

In the interim, our top priority continues to be maintaining a great experience for consumers and business continuity for our partners. We remain as excited as ever to welcome the Nokia Devices and Services business officially as part of the Microsoft family.

The deal was announced in September, when Microsoft said it was paying 3.79 billion Euros ($5 billion) for Nokia’s devices and service business and 1.65 billion Euros ($2.18 billion) to license Nokia’s patents, bringing the total transaction price to 5.44 billion Euros ($7.17 billion) in cash.

The deal also saw the return of then Nokia CEO Stephen Elop to his former company where he is to run Microsoft’s Xbox and tablet businesses.

Image via Nokia