Google Acquires Motorola Mobility for $12.5B, Gains Patent Traction
Google Inc., acquired Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion in a business transaction both agreed upon by both parties. This joint venture will be beneficial for Google and Motorola, as Google is set on acquiring patents along with talent buys, and Motorola Mobility is set on making their company more competitive, especially with Apple breathing down both their backs with lawsuits.
Motorola shareholders will get $40 a share in cash, 63% more than Motorola Mobility’s closing price on the New York Stock Exchange on Aug. 12. Their shares soared 60% to $39.24 premarket while Google shares were down 3.2% to $546.50 premarket Monday.
Motorola Mobility split with Motorola Solution’s Inc. earlier this year which gave them more room to focus on their smartphones and set top boxes. Their Smartphone focus will clearly bring an edge to Google for their Android OS.
Larry Page, CEO of Google, said, “Motorola Mobility’s total commitment to Android has created a natural fit for our two companies. Together, we will create amazing user experiences that supercharge the entire Android ecosystem for the benefit of consumers, partners and developers. I look forward to welcoming Motorolans to our family of Googlers.”
Google will run Motorola Mobility as a separate venture and will not affect Android, with plans to remain as an open platform, and will still be available to other smartphones and tablet developers.
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. We will continue to work with all of our valued Android partners to develop and distribute innovative Android-powered devices.”
The business transaction is set to close by the end of 2011 or early 2012 after acquiring all the necessary approval coming from the US, European Union and the approval of Motorola Mobility stockholders.
This joint venture may just be what they both need to finally end Apple’s dominance and to win filed lawsuits against them. Google is really pushing their luck with talent buys and this one my just be the best one so far.
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