As expected Google maintains ownership of the vast majority of the
Motorola Mobility patent portfolio, including current patent
applications and invention disclosures. Lenovo will receive a license to
these patents and other intellectual property. Additionally, Lenovo
will receive over 2,000 patent assets, as well as the Motorola Mobility
brand and trademark portfolio.
You can read the full announcement below!
Lenovo
and Google today have entered into a definitive agreement under which
Lenovo plans to acquire the Motorola Mobility smartphone business. With a
strong PC business and a fast-growing smartphone business, this
agreement will significantly strengthen Lenovo’s position in the
smartphone market. In addition, Lenovo will gain a strong market
presence in North America and Latin America, as well as a foothold in
Western Europe, to complement its strong, fast-growing smartphone
business in emerging markets around the world.
The purchase price
is approximately US$2.91 billion (subject to certain adjustments),
including US$1.41 billion paid at close, comprised of US$660 million in
cash and US$750 million in Lenovo ordinary shares (subject to a share
cap/floor). The remaining US$1.5 billion will be paid in the form of a
three-year promissory note.
Lenovo, which in 2005 acquired IBM’s
PC business and its legendary PC brand, will now acquire world-renowned
Motorola Mobility, including the MOTOROLA brand and Motorola Mobility's
portfolio of innovative smartphones like the Moto X and Moto G and the
DROID™ Ultra series. In addition to current products, Lenovo will take
ownership of the future Motorola Mobility product roadmap.
Google
will maintain ownership of the vast majority of the Motorola Mobility
patent portfolio, including current patent applications and invention
disclosures. As part of its ongoing relationship with Google, Lenovo
will receive a license to this rich portfolio of patents and other
intellectual property. Additionally Lenovo will receive over 2,000
patent assets, as well as the Motorola Mobility brand and trademark
portfolio.
Motorola Mobility enjoys outstanding brand awareness
around the world, and is currently the #3 Android smartphone
manufacturer in the U.S. and #3 manufacturer overall in Latin America.
“The
acquisition of such an iconic brand, innovative product portfolio and
incredibly talented global team will immediately make Lenovo a strong
global competitor in smartphones. We will immediately have the
opportunity to become a strong global player in the fast-growing mobile
space,” said Yang Yuanqing, chairman and CEO of Lenovo. “We are
confident that we can bring together the best of both companies to
deliver products customers will love and a strong, growing business.
Lenovo has a proven track record of successfully embracing and
strengthening great brands – as we did with IBM’s Think brand – and
smoothly and efficiently integrating companies around-the-world. I am
confident we will be successful with this process, and that our
companies will not only maintain our current momentum in the market, but
also build a strong foundation for the future.”
“Lenovo has the
expertise and track record to scale Motorola Mobility into a major
player within the Android ecosystem. This move will enable Google to
devote our energy to driving innovation across the Android ecosystem,
for the benefit of smartphone users everywhere,” said Larry Page, CEO,
Google.
“As part of Lenovo, Motorola Mobility will have a rapid
path to achieving our goal of reaching the next 100 million people with
the mobile Internet. With the recent launches of Moto X and Moto G, we
have tremendous momentum right now and Lenovo’s hardware expertise and
global reach will only help to accelerate this,” said Dennis Woodside,
CEO, Motorola Mobility.
The transaction is subject to the
satisfaction of regulatory requirements, customary closing conditions
and any other needed approvals.
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