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Saturday, May 19, 2012, 11:10 pm
Google cleared for Motorola purchase after receiving Chinese regulatory approval
Google and Motorola Mobility both revealed on Saturday that they have received Chinese regulatory approval for their proposed merger and expect to soon close on the deal.After receiving permission in February to move ahead with the merger from the European Commission and U.S. Department of Justice, Google had been waiting for China as the final jurisdiction to sign off on the transaction. Chinese law requires that companies doing sales of more than $63 million domestic or and $1.5 billion globally must seek approve from its Ministry of Commerce.
“We are pleased the deal has received approval in all jurisdictions,” Motorola Mobility told Bloomberg in a statement that confirmed approval in China. “We expect to close imminently.”
Google said simply that its stance on the deal "has not changed" and that it is looking forward to completing the acquisition.
According to the report, China's Ministry of Commerce declared that Google must keep its Android mobile operating system free and open for the next five years as a condition of the approval.
Google announced last August that it had agreed to buy Motorola for $12.5 billion in a move that would "supercharge the Android ecosystem" while allowing Motorola to continue to run as a separate business. Google CEO Larry Page also revealed that the acquisition was meant to "better protect Android from anti-competitive threats from Microsoft, Apple and other companies."
Along with Motorola's cache of over 17,000 patents, Google will also pick up Motorola's legal disputes. As such, Google will face off against Apple once the deal is completed. Apple and Motorola are currently engaged in a complicated patent battle across multiple countries. Most recently, Apple succeeded in having a case against Motorola and HTC consolidated.
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Previous Comments View All
Paraphrasing Oscar Wilde, there are only two tragedies in life: one is, not getting what you want; the other.....
WTF? Two American companies. Why do they bother getting Chinese approval? Are they running it by Luxemburg also?
If Google/Moto want to do business in China, they need to grease the wheels...
S_rew them. If they ban over something they should have no say over, then we just ban some of their companies. They need to sell to us way more than we need to sell to them.
The US step in to protect the funds of 2 private international companies that happen to have headquarters in the US? Not the kind of escalation anyone wants...
Google needs China and Europe approval before buying Motorola. The whole point of Google buying Motorola is about those patents. It does not have anything to do with Chinese or European companies at all. Just Can't believe some people do not understand this basic knowledge.
Suppose Google sues Apple over the infringement of Motorola-owned patents in the major markets like the US/Europe/China, they need to gain approval for Google's purchase of Motorola in the first place; otherwise no government will enforce Google's Motorola patents.
WTF? Two American companies. Why do they bother getting Chinese approval? Are they running it by Luxemburg also?
Well seeing as Microsoft was successful in obtaining an injunction banning the importation of Motorola Android devices into the US, Google needs other markets to sell their stuff in.
WTF? Two American companies. Why do they bother getting Chinese approval? Are they running it by Luxemburg also?
You really need to get past the 1960s.
Business is global. Apple, for example, has more than 1/2 of its business outside of the U.S. The fact that you are a U.S. company does not give you the right to violate local laws. You need to ensure compliance with countries where you do a significant amount of business.
In the end, though, I predict that this move will be the thing that saves Windows Mobile:
1. The license fees for Windows Mobile are probably no greater than what Android licensees must pay Microsoft, anyway.
2. Google refuses to indemnify licensees over patent infringement. Microsoft, OTOH, defends its OS.
3. Android licensees will see that they are licensing an OS from their competitor. Anyone who thinks that Motorola/Google won't have an advantage when it comes to Android are kidding themselves.
OTOH, think of the increased penetration this gives Google into your home. The set-top box that connects your TV to the cable company or satellite dish will be Google's to control. Anyone want to bet that they won't be tracking your viewing habits? I could also see other items 'updated' to include Android. For example, your home phone could have a small Android screen on it giving Google another way to track you.
S_rew them. If they ban over something they should have no say over, then we just ban some of their companies. They need to sell to us way more than we need to sell to them.
The US step in to protect the funds of 2 private international companies that happen to have headquarters in the US? Not the kind of escalation anyone wants...
You both are totally clueless as to what this is all about.
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Moto really deserved this. They had plenty of chances to develop and market products that would be very competitive with Apple. But... Moto just couldn't think along the same lines as Apple. Lead, follow or get bought out.