Google and Motorola Mobility have received the final approval needed for the company’s $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility to go ahead.

Approval by the Chinese regulator was all that was required for the purchase to be completed and this has now been granted. Motorola Mobility said in a statement “We are pleased the deal has received approval in all jurisdictions. We expect to close imminently.”

Google said in an emailed statement “Our stance since we agreed to acquire Motorola has not changed and we look forward to closing the deal.”

The purchase of Motorola Mobility will assist Google in competing with Apple’s iPhone and should also give the Android operating system a bit of a boost, in addition to helping the Mountain View company out on the patent front.

Part of the deal for approval by the Chinese regulator is that Google will have to keep the Android OS free and open for the next five years.

Source: Business Insider