European regulators are set to decide the fate of Google’s $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility in the coming month.
A new deadline of February 13th was set on a decision which would decide whether the search giant should take over the U.S. smartphone maker, after new documents were presented to support its case.
The European Commission suspended its review into Google and Motorola Mobility last month after more documents were needed as part of the ongoing review.
Google brushed off concerns that the Commission’s suspended review meant that the deal could fall through. “We’re confident the Commission will conclude that this acquisition is good for competition and we’ll be working closely and cooperatively with them as they continue their review,” a statement read.
The search giant and Android mobile operating system maker seeks to acquire Motorola Mobility for its 17,000 patents in a bid to protest its mobile interests. By bolstering its patent position, it allows Google to fend off legal disputes from its rivals.
The Commission published a notification last month in the European Law Journal, “inviting interested third parties” to submit their “comments and observations” on how its regulators should proceed; effectively asking those who may be affected by the deal to come forward.
While the U.S. Justice Dept. continues to assess Google’s acquision, it has not yet publicly stated its position on the proposed merger. The government agency still has the opportunity to block a merger from going ahead.
Should the European regulators decide that the acquisition would be harmful to competition, U.S. regulators would all but certainly follow suit.
Related:
- Google, Motorola merger review suspended by European regulators
- Google seeks European clearance for Motorola Mobility acquisition
- Google-Motorola deal moves forward, Justice Dept. could still block merger
- Motorola Mobility’s shareholders approve Google merger
- Motorola sued by Google-funded company over Android patents
- Google’s Motorola acquisition: Nail in the Android patent coffin?
- Judge denies Google’s witness complaint in Microsoft-Motorola dispute
