Google will sell Motorola Mobility to Lenovo for $2.91 billion, following some decline in revenue and job cuts in 2013.
Google bought Motorola in 2012 as a way to tap into the “phenomenal success” of Android and support the competition it brings to the market.
“The smartphone market is super competitive, and to thrive it helps to be all-in when it comes to making mobile devices,” Google CEO Larry Page wrote in a blog post. “It’s why we believe that Motorola will be better served by Lenovo – which has a rapidly growing smartphone business and is the largest (and fastest-growing) PC manufacturer in the world.”
Google’s financial results released in October last year showed that revenue from Motorola decreased from $1.78 billion in Q3 2012 to just $1.18 billion in Q3 2013.
In March 2013, 1,200 staff from Motorola Mobility lost their jobs as a continuation of 4,000 jobs cuts made in August 2012.
Page added that Lenovo’s acquisition does not necessarily mean that Google’s other hardware initiatives will change. “The dynamics and maturity of the wearable and home markets, for example, are very different from that of the mobile industry.”
Most of Motorola’s patents will still be owned by Google.
The deal is pending approval in the United States and China.
IDG News Service
Subscribers 0
Fans 0
Followers 0
Followers