Google has confirmed the sale of Motorola Mobility to Chinese hardware and tech multinational Lenovo for $2.91bn (£1.8bn) – some $9.59bn less than it paid for it just 19 months ago.
Motorola Mobility was Google’s biggest-ever acquisition, as the search giant hoped to make headway in the smartphone market.
But Google admitted in a statement that the smartphone market was “super competitive”.
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Despite the eye-watering financial hit, Google will retain some precious intellectual property as part of the sale.
It gets to keep some of the most advanced tech and patents developed by Motorola’s Advanced Technology Group.
These include “the Ara modular smartphone concept, as well as sensors you swallow and passwords you tattoo on your skin”, according to TechCrunch.
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Google said in a statement: “We acquired Motorola in 2012 to help supercharge the Android ecosystem by creating a stronger patent portfolio for Google and great smartphones for users. […]
“But the smartphone market is super competitive, and to thrive it helps to be all-in when it comes to making mobile devices.
“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.”
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