Google will buy handset manufacturer Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion, paying $40 per share, a premium of 63% to the closing price of Motorola Mobility shares on Friday, August 12, 2011. The transaction, expected to close by the end of 2011 or early 2012, is subject regulatory approvals, especially in the US and the European Union, as well as the approval of Motorola Mobility's shareholders (it has received board approval). This acquisition marks Google's formal entry into the handsets game, and it will be interesting to see how the rest of the handset ecosystem responds to this deal. Google has, in the announcement statement, gone out of its way to state that Android will remain open, looking to preempt any statements voicing concerns about the future of Android. It says that Motorola Mobility will be run as a separate business, and an Android licensee. Remember that Motorola was among the first to launch an Android phone, with the Motorola Droid. What remains to be seen is whether any Google phones in the future are powered by Motorola competitors like HTC, Samsung and LG. We're not sure if it will, as Google claims, "Supercharge Android, Enhance Competition". On a side note, this might add fuel to the 'Will Microsoft buy Nokia?' fire. What Google Gets The synergy between Motorola Mobility and Google possibly goes beyond just Android powered handsets, or its focus on LTE smartphones and tablets: - Possibly for Google TV, there is fit with Motorola Mobility's Home Segment, where…
Please subscribe to MediaNama. Don't share prints and PDFs.
You May Also Like
News
Google has released a Google Travel Trends Report which states that branded budget hotel search queries grew 179% year over year (YOY) in India, in...
Advert
135 job openings in over 60 companies are listed at our free Digital and Mobile Job Board: If you’re looking for a job, or...
News
By Aroon Deep and Aditya Chunduru You’re reading it here first: Twitter has complied with government requests to censor 52 tweets that mostly criticised...
News
Rajesh Kumar* doesn’t have many enemies in life. But, Uber, for which he drives a cab everyday, is starting to look like one, he...