Google in US$12.5b phone deal
Source: Agencies |
August 16, 2011, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
GOOGLE is to buy phone maker Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc for US$12.5 billion to bolster adoption of its Android mobile software and compete with smartphone rival Apple.
In its biggest deal to date, Google said it would pay US$40 per share in cash, a 63 percent premium to Motorola Mobility's Friday close on the New York Stock Exchange.
"What it says is that Google wants to provide a total experience that's hardware and software," said BGC Partners analyst Colin Gillis.
Shares of Motorola Mobility, which focuses on smartphone and TV set-top boxes, jumped 59 percent yesterday.
Google, maker of the Android mobile phone operating system software, has been forging ahead in the smartphone market but has been hampered by a lack of intellectual property in wireless telephony.
Earlier this month, fresh from losing a bid to buy thousands of patents from bankrupt Nortel, David Drummond, Google's chief legal officer, blasted Microsoft, Apple, Oracle and "other companies," accusing them of colluding to hamper the increasingly popular Android software by buying up patents.
A source close to the deal said Google swooped in to buy Motorola Mobility after losing out on Nortel's patents.
"It is much more than just a patent sale. It is obviously more than a strategy shift for Google that is very significant," the source said.
The Motorola Mobility deal may represent a victory for activist investor Carl Icahn, Motorola's biggest shareholder. He has urged Motorola to consider splitting off its patent portfolio to cash in on surging interest in wireless technology.
As of last month, Icahn held an 11.36 percent stake.
In a statement, Icahn said the deal is "a great outcome for all shareholders of Motorola Mobility."
Google, which plans to run Motorola Mobility as a separate business, said the deal will close by the end of 2011 or early in 2012.
It will require regulatory approvals in the United States, the European Union and other areas, as well as the blessing of Motorola Mobility's shareholders.
Lazard advised Google on the deal, while Motorola used Centerview Partners and Frank Quattrone's Qatalyst Partners, according to sources.
In its biggest deal to date, Google said it would pay US$40 per share in cash, a 63 percent premium to Motorola Mobility's Friday close on the New York Stock Exchange.
"What it says is that Google wants to provide a total experience that's hardware and software," said BGC Partners analyst Colin Gillis.
Shares of Motorola Mobility, which focuses on smartphone and TV set-top boxes, jumped 59 percent yesterday.
Google, maker of the Android mobile phone operating system software, has been forging ahead in the smartphone market but has been hampered by a lack of intellectual property in wireless telephony.
Earlier this month, fresh from losing a bid to buy thousands of patents from bankrupt Nortel, David Drummond, Google's chief legal officer, blasted Microsoft, Apple, Oracle and "other companies," accusing them of colluding to hamper the increasingly popular Android software by buying up patents.
A source close to the deal said Google swooped in to buy Motorola Mobility after losing out on Nortel's patents.
"It is much more than just a patent sale. It is obviously more than a strategy shift for Google that is very significant," the source said.
The Motorola Mobility deal may represent a victory for activist investor Carl Icahn, Motorola's biggest shareholder. He has urged Motorola to consider splitting off its patent portfolio to cash in on surging interest in wireless technology.
As of last month, Icahn held an 11.36 percent stake.
In a statement, Icahn said the deal is "a great outcome for all shareholders of Motorola Mobility."
Google, which plans to run Motorola Mobility as a separate business, said the deal will close by the end of 2011 or early in 2012.
It will require regulatory approvals in the United States, the European Union and other areas, as well as the blessing of Motorola Mobility's shareholders.
Lazard advised Google on the deal, while Motorola used Centerview Partners and Frank Quattrone's Qatalyst Partners, according to sources.
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