Nokia to buy digital health company Withings in $190 million deal.

HELSINKI — In a move to speed its entry into digital health products, Nokia says it plans to acquire the French consumer electronics company Withings S.A., in a 170 million-euro ($191 million) deal.

The Finland-based telecom networks provider says growing global interest in the health sector is of "strategic importance" to Nokia, which has a strong technology unit that controls a vast portfolio of patents.

Nokia, once the world's leading cellphone maker, sold off its mapping services last year after shedding its ailing handsets division to Microsoft. Last year, it bought the French company Alcatel-Lucent in a 15.6 billion-euro deal to become a leading global networks provider.

Withings' product portfolio consists of wearables, including its Activité line of smart watches, as well as Internet of Things connected, health focused devices such as smart scales and blood pressure monitors. 

Nokia Technologies said Tuesday the cash deal is expected to close in the third-quarter subject to regulatory approvals.