Nokia has offered to pay a 270 million euro deposit to Indian authorities to unfreeze assets in a tax dispute. The former rubber boot maker has been trying to free up the assets, particularly its Chennai factory which is one of its biggest phone-making plants, ahead of the sale of its mobile phone business to Microsoft.

The offer comes on top of an earlier agreement to pay around 85 million euros. Nokia should get that back if it wins and retrieves the payments locked up in a tax dispute. The Indians think Nokia owed them 20.8 billion rupees ($338 million). Nokia has said it does not expect the dispute to affect its 5.4 billion euros deal with Microsoft, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2014.

An asset freeze would allow the facility to operate as usual but prevent a change of ownership. Nokia said it was committed to getting its Indian assets unfrozen and "once again calls on the Indian government and tax authority to work with urgency towards a