Google to acquire Motorola Mobility business for $12.5b
“The acquisition of Motorola is a notable one for Google, which has made dozens of acquisitions but has only tackled a handful of billion-dollar transactions in its 13-year history. On the company’s official blog, Mr. Page said Google was purchasing the handset maker to bolster its Android mobile operating system and increase the number of patents it owned.”
News Desk: Google, Motorola, and a Patent War : The New Yorker.
“Google doesn’t want to do what Motorola Mobility does (sell phones); it wants the company because it’s got a big heap of patents—seventeen thousand, apparently, with seven thousand more under review. And this is why today’s news is profoundly depressing.”
CHART OF THE DAY: This Is The Business Google Just Bought
“Well, there are patents. Lots and lots of patents — 24,500 to be precise. Those will be useful for protecting Android from lawsuits brought by Apple and Microsoft. Other than the patents … Google is getting an old school manufacturing business that has really crappy margins. Google earns almost as much in profit on a quarterly basis as Motorola generates in revenue.”