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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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Google is selling its Motorola Mobility division to Lenovo for $2.91 billion, according to a report from China Daily. Google acquired the company and its then 17,000-strong patent portfolio, along with 7,500 filed patents, in August of 2011 for roughly $12.5 billion.

At the time, Google said Motorola was a "natural fit" for the two companies and that it would "supercharge the entire Android ecosystem". The deal is said to include 10,000 of Motorola Mobility's patents, although it is likely that Google will retain licenses for those patents.

google_motorola.jpg
Lenovo Group Ltd is likely to buy Google Inc's Motorola Mobility business, giving the Chinese company a bigger say in the global tablet and smartphone market.

The acquisition, worth at least $2 billion, will include more than 10,000 mobile communications patents currently held by the United States company, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The deal is expected to be announced on Thursday morning in Beijing.
Google's Motorola Mobility subsidiary has been a money loser for the company in recent quarters, costing the firm $248 million in the most recent quarter. Earlier this month, Google purchased the Tony Fadell-founded Nest for $3.2 billion in cash.

Update: Google has confirmed the acquisition in a blog post, saying "Motorola will be better served by Lenovo". The deal will need to be approved by both the U.S. and Chinese governments.
This move will enable Google to devote our energy to driving innovation across the Android ecosystem, for the benefit of smartphone users everywhere. As a side note, this does not signal a larger shift for our other hardware efforts. The dynamics and maturity of the wearable and home markets, for example, are very different from that of the mobile industry. We're excited by the opportunities to build amazing new products for users within these emerging ecosystems.

Article Link: Google Selling Motorola Mobility to Lenovo for $2.91 Billion
 

proline

macrumors 6502a
Nov 18, 2012
630
1
Buy high, sell low. Way to take care of the shareholder's money, Google!

This also goes to show that Google's only interest in Moto was that they thought they could weaponize standards essential patents. Once the various judges told them to buzz off, they finally gave up.

Total wasted shareholder money: $15 billion+ when you count the two years of covering Moto's losses, the failed lawsuits, and the discount they gave Lenovo.
 

avanpelt

macrumors 68030
Jun 2, 2010
2,956
3,877
Wow, didn't see that sale coming. I wonder why? All the reviews I've heard about the Moto X have been quite positive.
 

Solomani

macrumors 601
Sep 25, 2012
4,785
10,477
Slapfish, North Carolina
Oops. It's not a natural fit any more. It was a money-losing acquisition for Google.

And all the slow-thinkers still wonder why Apple does not rush to acquire smaller companies. :rolleyes:
 

GfPQqmcRKUvP

macrumors 68040
Sep 29, 2005
3,272
514
Terminus
Massive acquisitions rarely work out for the buyer and yet this is what tons of uninformed people on this site want Apple to do with its spare money it isn't using rather than give it back to the stockholders via an enlarged dividend or buyback.
 

afro-ninja

macrumors member
Jan 27, 2013
44
4
This is a shame. The Moto X and Moto G look like some really nice phones, both by the top of their respective Android markets.
 

madcran

macrumors newbie
Aug 22, 2007
29
35
If you don't create anything after buying a company, how can you expect to make money on it? I might be wrong, but I don't think that under Google's watch that they actually produced a phone worth selling.
 

the8thark

macrumors 601
Apr 18, 2011
4,628
1,735
So Google will lose about 9 billion dollars just to keep a few of Motorola's best patents and sell the rest? The Google shareholders would not be happy about Google pissing away their money like this.
 

2457282

Suspended
Dec 6, 2012
3,327
3,015
Wow!:eek:

Motorola how far you have fallen. I hope you do better with Lenovo -- they seem to have done okay with the IBM PC unit, so maybe they can help you get un-scroogled.
 

brianbobcat

macrumors regular
Aug 13, 2003
165
14
Illinois
I live in Chicago and I wonder what the sale means to the Moto employees here. Google was in the process of closing the suburban office park Motorola Mobility had called home and moving everyone downtown. Will they continue the move to Chicago, or will Lenovo close moto and move all development to their own offices? It does seem a shame since Motorola was really starting to develop quality products again.
 

jrswizzle

macrumors 603
Aug 23, 2012
6,107
129
McKinney, TX
This is extremely perplexing......

I really like the Moto G and have heard wonderful things about the Moto X. It would've been on my Android radar in 2014.

Now Lenovo's getting into the smartphone market?

And I wonder what this does to those rumors about Google axing the Nexus line. Would've made more sense with GPE and Moto devices - now?

Lots of questions....
 

koppie644

macrumors regular
Oct 4, 2011
132
1
Lenovo bought the PC business of IBM many years ago, which turned out successful

Now, IBM server, and Motorola

I hope one day they buy Microsoft and Google, :D
 

daneoni

macrumors G4
Mar 24, 2006
11,575
1,131
Oh dear...

kC040VN.gif


So Lenovo is now in the Enterprise, Consumer and Mobile space.
 

FakeWozniak

macrumors 6502
Nov 8, 2007
428
26
Surprised it took this long.

This is why advertising costs so much. Because Google has to lose $10B on short sighted strategies.
 

herocero

macrumors regular
Jan 23, 2003
148
127
down on the upside
So Google will lose about 9 billion dollars just to keep a few of Motorola's best patents and sell the rest? The Google shareholders would not be happy about Google pissing away their money like this.

Strictly strategic move to obtain rights to the patents. Just because they didn't release a ton of new products doesn't mean it wasn't worth it. Everyone in the industry has to lawyer up.
 

sinsin07

macrumors 68040
Mar 28, 2009
3,606
2,662
They should of "googled"' Motorola before purchasing them.
 
Last edited:

kerryb

macrumors regular
Sep 14, 2003
139
0
Omg

If this is true Google just dumped some overpriced IP at a huge loss. I would be really pissed if I owned stock in the worlds greatest ad selling company.
 
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