Motorola Mobility to be acquired by Lenovo from Google

Google and Lenovo have recently entered into a definitive agreement under which Lenovo plans to acquire the Motorola Mobility smartphone business. The search giant Google signed an agreement to sell Motorola to Lenovo for $2.91 billion. The purchase price is approximately (subject to certain adjustments), including US$1.41 billion paid at close, comprised of US$660 million in cash and US$750 million in Lenovo ordinary shares (subject to a sharecap/floor). The remaining US$1.5 billion will be paid in the form of a three-year promissory note. With a strong PC business and a fast-growing smartphone business, this agreement will significantly strengthen Lenovo's position in the smartphone market. In addition, Lenovo will gain a strong market presence in North America and Latin America, as well as a foothold in Western Europe, to complement its strong, fast-growing smartphone business in emerging markets around the world.

As you might still remember, Google acquired Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion in 2011 to protect its Android mobile platform from patent lawsuits flying in from Microsoft and Apple. Google will maintain ownership of the vast majority of the Motorola Mobility patent portfolio, including current patent applications and invention disclosures. As part of its ongoing relationship with Google, Lenovo will receive a license to this rich portfolio of patents and other intellectual property. Additionally Lenovo will receive over 2,000 patent assets, as well as the Motorola Mobility brand and trademark portfolio. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals in the U.S. and China.

Lenovo, which in 2005 acquired IBM’s PC business and its legendary PC brand, will now acquire world-renowned Motorola Mobility, including the MOTOROLA brand and Motorola Mobility's portfolio of innovative smartphones like the Moto X and Moto G and the DROID Ultra series.  In addition to current products, Lenovo will take ownership of the future Motorola Mobility product roadmap.

According to Google CEO Larry Page,

“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.”

(sources:1,2,3)