Google set to Acquire Motorola

Z

Zaphod

Remember
Veteran
I did not see that one coming.

Mostly a patent play, I guess(?), since I struggle to see what use their (in most markets) dwindling market share, distribution and brand awareness could be to Google.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: MMI) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Google will acquire Motorola Mobility for $40.00 per share in cash, or a total of about $12.5 billion, a premium of 63% to the closing price of Motorola Mobility shares on Friday, August 12, 2011. The transaction was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies.
Click to expand...
Our acquisition of Motorola will increase competition by strengthening Google’s patent portfolio, which will enable us to better protect Android from anti-competitive threats from Microsoft, Apple and other companies.
Click to expand...

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/supercharging-android-google-to-acquire.html
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Zaphod said:
I did not see that one coming.

Mostly a patent play, I guess(?), since I struggle to see what use their (in most markets) dwindling market share, distribution and brand awareness could be to Google.



http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/supercharging-android-google-to-acquire.html
Click to expand...

Assuming motorola mobility is the entire handset division, this gives them their own google handsets/tablets rather than getting samsung or whoever to make them, so is it their first major entry into hardware ?

It is also a major patent play, I agree.
 
Unless this buys Google enough patent retaliation power to start indemnifying Android customers
 
It seemed that all the patent lawsuits were against manuacturers and not Google and Android directly. Owning Motorola ensures having a manufacturer that has enough patents to avoid litigation while creating and selling its own handsets.

The only way that could help other manufacturers of Android phones is if as suggested, Motorola has enough patents to threaten Apple into dropping thier lawsuits. Although I am not sure its that transparent and works out that way.
 
Incidentally, Motorola have been doing some minor sable rattling themselves:
Speaking at the Oppenheimer Technology and Communications Conference, Motorola Mobility's chairman and chief executive Dr. Sanjay Jha indicated that his company planned to leverage its differentiation among other Android licenses by seeking royalties from its intellectual property war chest.

"We have a very large IP portfolio," Jha stated, "and I think in the long term, as things settle down, you will see a meaningful difference in positions of many different Android players. Both, in terms of avoidance of royalties, as well as potentially being able to collect royalties. And that will make a big difference to people who have very strong IP positions.”
Click to expand...
So, unless Google also plan to leverage that IP portfolio against their licensees in addition to Apple/MS, they may also have bought some peace in the ranks amongst their Android customers.
 
Someone was saying MS probably makes more money off Android than Google does, based on the license it extracted from HTC.

So Google wants to protect the viability of Android by buying a patent portfolio but are they making much off Android? It has great mindshare but it's not clear the returns are there, given the investments.
 
Apple and MS weren't afraid of Motorola's patents before this deal (Both companies are already suing Motorola...) and won't suddenly be scared of them once Google owns them so this acquisition won't help much against those two..
 
Like Chrome OS, Android is mainly a strategic play for marketshare in the post-PC area. Although the OS itself is freely available for manufacturers, Android + Google Internet services is not. That's a bit of revenue for Google right there, but more importantly, it'll bring in customers to app and music stores, video rental, VOIP to telephony gateway and other opportunities that Google would like to skim off. And at the end of the day there's always Google's cash cow advertising eyeballs at stake.

I don't think Samsung, HTC and all the others have anything to fear from this partnership. More likely Google will attempt to use it for the benefit of its existing customers.
 
Wow, and for 12 and a half billion?!

Considering Motorola's phone division had gone from the blockbuster craze of the RAZR to almost being toast just a few years ago before Android, it's a good fit, and their leveraging of the Droid brand and Android positioning has ended up being quite lucrative indeed for the company.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Ike Turner said:
Apple and MS weren't afraid of Motorola's patents before this deal (Both companies are already suing Motorola...) and won't suddenly be scared of them once Google owns them so this acquisition won't help much against those two..
Click to expand...
Aren't Apple and MS's patent suits more software and design related, particularly Apple's in terms of UI design? Does Motorola's patent portfolio really extend far into this domain? I always thought they were more focused on the hardware side of things. And given how long Motorola has been in the wireless business, they probably have a bunch of good patents fundamental to cell phones and telecommunication. However, given this fundamental status, wouldn't Apple and MS already have licensed at least the most critical of Motorola's wireless hardware related patents early on in order to get started in the cell phone business? Or they are protected by their component suppliers who would have had to license from Motorola?
 
ltcommander.data said:
Aren't Apple and MS's patent suits more software and design related, particularly Apple's in terms of UI design? Does Motorola's patent portfolio really extend far into this domain? I always thought they were more focused on the hardware side of things. And given how long Motorola has been in the wireless business, they probably have a bunch of good patents fundamental to cell phones and telecommunication. However, given this fundamental status, wouldn't Apple and MS already have licensed at least the most critical of Motorola's wireless hardware related patents early on in order to get started in the cell phone business? Or they are protected by their component suppliers who would have had to license from Motorola?
Click to expand...

Good questions...interstinglly Google is only acquiring Motorola Mobility. There's still Motoroal Solutions left but it get's even more intersting when you realise that Motorola Solutions Wireless Network has been acquired by Nokia siemense just a few months ago (don't know if there was any patents as part of this del though)... http://press.nokia.com/2011/04/29/n...-infrastructure-assets-of-motorola-solutions/
 
Are they going to sell handsets along with HTC/Samsung? That will be competing with their own customers, but Samsung has been doing that a lot.

Are they going to stop selling handsets all together in interest of fairplay?

They refused to spend 4.5B for patents. They have spent 12.5B for something. They must be hoping for a lot more than just patents from this, which is not immediately obvious. Per copy royalty will just strengthen Microsoft.

Will they sell multiple handsets with stock Android UI? Will they continue with the crapfest carriers and IHVs indulge in the name of UI? Or just one blessed gPhone?

Lots to answer...

EDIT: Hadn't read the blog post before this comment, just the posts here.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Yeah, it's about having the right patents... MS and Apple kept poking the sleeping dragon; now that they woke it up, I wonder if things will turn out to their liking?
 
Patents definitely. And Android users like HTC already applauded the move.
 
Well they could have bought the Nortel patents, which include those related to LTE, for less, without the liability of the money-losing handset business.

Anyways, only Oracle has sued Google right? So is Google going to indemnify the Android manufacturers and put up this patent portfolio as ammo? It seems Google isn't making that much money directly off Android yet -- mobile advertising isn't that big a revenue stream currently.
 
Hmm, if they're not going to use those patents to defend the platform, surely they didn't pay $12.5 billion to get the baggage of 20,000 employees of a money-losing business?

ETA: Just read that Microsoft was sniffing around, either to buy MMI themselves or get their patents. So there's a sense that this was a panicked buy.
 
Just a couple of weeks ago Google turned down a patent pack that was being sold for 4 billions for being way too expensive (sorry, can't remember who it was). Now people say paying 12.5B is just for patents? Sure, makes so much sense :yep2:

[edit]
The 4B patent thingy was Nortel
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
Konami set to merge with or acquire Capcom
2
Replies
20
Views
4K
Sonic
S
Back
Top