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Google 'Supercharging Android' with Acquisition of Motorola Mobility

Monday August 15, 2011 6:20 am PDT by Eric Slivka

Google today announced that it will acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion, giving the Android developer a significant new hardware arm to help drive the platform forward. The deal brings $40 in cash for Motorola Mobility's shares, a 63% premium over Friday's closing price.
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.”
While Google will be able to make a direct move into the hardware business with Motorola Mobility, the company claims that Android will remain an "open platform" and that it will continue to support all vendors offering Android products.
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.”
In a blog post regarding the deal, Google CEO Larry Page reveals that Google felt compelled to make the acquisition in order to address the patent threats facing the company with a number of companies having recently cooperated to acquire large patent pools that could threaten Android.
We recently explained how companies including Microsoft and Apple are banding together in anti-competitive patent attacks on Android. The U.S. Department of Justice had to intervene in the results of one recent patent auction to “protect competition and innovation in the open source software community” and it is currently looking into the results of the Nortel auction. Our acquisition of Motorola will increase competition by strengthening Google’s patent portfolio, which will enable us to better protect Android from anti-competitive threats from Microsoft, Apple and other companies.
Google plans to run Motorola Mobility as a separate business and expects the transaction to close by the end of the year or early next year after appropriate approvals from Motorola Mobility shareholders and regulatory authorities.

Update: In a conference call discussing the acquisition, Google revealed that it will be acquiring 17,000 patents and an additional 7,500 filed patent applications in the deal, substantially strengthening its position in the mobile patent arms race.

[ 614 comments ]


Top Rated Comments

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Lone Deranger
103 months ago
So according to Google's top brass when Apple buys patents it's anti-competative, but Google buying patents is breaking new ground? Hypocrisy defined right there. :rolleyes:
Rating: 37 Votes
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FrHa
103 months ago
Call me stupid, but I honestly think this is a bad idea. Google has basically just got married (Motorola), whilst having having loads of other girlfriends (HTC, Samsung, LG, etc.).

Don't you think this acquisition may put other companies off the idea of using Android?
Rating: 37 Votes
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leesmith2
103 months ago
Nice spin there Larry! Never mind the fact that Google actively tried to acquire all those patents for that very same purpose. Android's partners are now their competitors.
Rating: 31 Votes
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haruhiko
103 months ago
Poor Samsung and HTC. :rolleyes:
Rating: 24 Votes
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bbplayer5
103 months ago

Don't worry people we're still winning!!! iPhone 5 will blow them all away there's nothing Google can do to stop us.


You say "we" like you are part of some battle? Its a friggen phone lol..
Rating: 23 Votes
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rdowns
103 months ago

They don't think so (http://www.slashgear.com/htc-sony-ericsson-and-lg-praise-googles-17k-motorola-patent-grab-15171695/).


Sounds like the same PR guy wrote all of the statements.
Rating: 20 Votes
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Renverse
103 months ago
No one has ever successfully licensed a platform *and* competed with licensees at the same time. Apple tried it (twice) as did Palm & Nokia. I'm highly skeptical that Google will succeed.
Rating: 17 Votes
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Jerome Morrow
103 months ago

I'd like to see Apple pick up RIM and HP and form a separate division to go hard after the corporate market.


Worst thing is to buy things you have no use for or just because someone else is buying them.
Rating: 17 Votes
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kenypowa
103 months ago

Poor Samsung and HTC. :rolleyes:


They are glad. Motorola holds 17000 patents. Guess how many Apple is infringing?

It's all about patents, my friends. Anything that lead to cross-licensing agreement is good news for Saumsung and HTC.
Rating: 16 Votes
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reezer
103 months ago
Am I wrong or does Sammy and HTC make the better Android handsets? I wonder what they would have cost.
Rating: 14 Votes

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