Several reports late yesterday were claiming that Google is selling off Motorola or rather, the part of the company that makes mobile phones, to Chinese company Lenovo. Google has since confirmed those reports, saying that the deal will cost Lenovo just shy of $3 billion.
Ars Technica reports that Google originally paid $12.5 billion for Motorola and they have since sold a portion of it, the set-top box business, for $2.35 billion. With the confirmed price of the Lenovo purchase, Google is taking a hit to the pocketbook to the tune of $7 billion or so. But they don’t seem to be too upset about that.
Google said of Lenovo’s part in the deal that “Lenovo has the expertise and track record to scale Motorola into a major player within the Android ecosystem. They have a lot of experience in hardware, and they have global reach. In addition, Lenovo intends to keep Motorola’s distinct brand identity—just as they did when they acquired ThinkPad from IBM in 2005.”
Google, however, will be hanging onto most of the patents that came with their original Motorola Mobility purchase. Regulators in the States and in China have yet to approve the Lenovo deal but Google seems confident that everything will go as planned.
Source: Ars Technica