Psion, the handheld computer maker, has announced that Symbian,
the mobile phone joint venture in which it has a 28% holding, is to
be floated. The share holding, the biggest among the parties to the
venture, is seen by many as the most important asset of Psion.
The Symbian joint venture was set up among Psion and Finland’s
Nokia, US based Motorola, Sweden’s Ericsson and Japan’s Matsushita.
Symbian develops an operating system called EPOC that allows
internet access on mobile phones and personal digital assistants
(PDAs).
Psion said yesterday that Symbian’s shareholders have decided to
float the joint venture company, subject to prevailing stock market
conditions and the establishment of high-volume products.
Psion has also announced pre-tax profits of £3 million, compared
to £100,000 last year. The company is valued at £2.6 billion.
