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Google closes Motorola buy

Google has completed its $12.5bn purchase of Motorola's mobile business and immediately replaced the chief executive of the company with a Google executive
Written by Ben Woods, Contributor

Google has completed its purchase of Motorola Mobility, ending months of doubt over whether the deal would stand up to regulatory scrutiny around the world.

The company announced its $12.5bn (£7.9bn) intended purchase of Motorola's handset business in August 2011. The deal was put under the spotlight by regulators in the EU, the US and China, with Chinese authorities the last to give Google the go-ahead on 21 May.

"I'm excited to announce today that our Motorola Mobility deal has closed. Motorola is a great American tech company that has driven the mobile revolution, with a track record of over 80 years of innovation, including the creation of the first cell phone," Larry Page, chief executive of Google, said in a blog post on Tuesday.

In addition to announcing the completion of the deal, Page confirmed that former chief executive of Motorola Mobility, Sanjay Jha, will be replaced by 'Googler' Dennis Woodside as head of the company.

When the acquisition was originally announced, Google said it would "supercharge Android", provoking concerns among other handset manufacturers that this would mean Motorola received preferential treatment in the Android ecosystem — a concern that Google has been quick to rebut.

In its most recent financial statement covering the fiscal first quarter of 2012, published in May, Motorola Mobility posted an $80m loss, despite increasing its smartphone shipments year-on-year.


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