In turn, to further increase the independence of Symbian from Nokia, the Finnish phone manufacturer has agreed to sell its Symbian Professional Services unit of engineering consultant firm Accenture.

This unit is responsible for customer and engineering support to clients for Symbian OS, the world’s largest operating system for smartphones. Approximately 165 people will be transferred to Accenture as a result of the agreement, the terms of which were not disclosed.

The deal, announced Friday, is expected to close by the end of the third quarter, according to a press release from Nokia.

Symbian Nokia acquired last year and transferred to the operating system to fund non-profit Symbian. The organization, on Thursday announced that it will accept proposals for distribution - for Symbian Horizon application publishing platform