Google has acquired Motorola Mobility in a deal worth in the region of $12.5 billion
Google swoops on Motorola in $12.5bn deal
Google has acquired Motorola Mobility in a deal worth in the region of $12.5 billion.
Google says the agreement with Motorola – already an Android partner – will ‘supercharge’ the Android ecosystem, with Google CEO Larry Page promising ‘amazing user experiences’.
The transaction was unanimously approved by the boards of both companies, and gives the search giant access to 17,000 patents.
Google intends to run Motorola Mobility as a separate business, and it will remain a licensee of Android. Android will remain open.
Sanjay Jha, CEO of Motorola Mobility, said, “We have shared a productive partnership with Google to advance the Android platform, and now through this combination we will be able to do even more to innovate and deliver outstanding mobility solutions across our mobile devices and home businesses.”
Andy Rubin, Senior Vice President of Mobile at Google, said, “We expect that this combination will enable us to break new ground for the Android ecosystem. However, our vision for Android is unchanged and Google remains firmly committed to Android as an open platform and a vibrant open source community.”
The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2011 or early 2012, subject to regulatory approval in the US, the European Union and other jurisdictions, and the approval of Motorola Mobility’s stockholders.
Selected coverage from the web
> Google boss Larry Page’s announcement [Official Google Blog]
> Nokia shares soar in response to Google-Motorola deal [Economic Times]
> Google buys Motorola for ‘superpower’ status [Bloomberg]
> What is Google’s strategy? [Washington Post]
> Google-Motorola: Patents of mass destruction [CNET]
