Google has agreed to acquire Motorola Mobility Holdings for roughly $12.5 billion in cash, the tech giant announced on Monday.
The deal, which will go through by early 2012, equates to $40 per share and it was unanimously approved by the shareholders of each company.
This effectively turns Google, which makes the Android mobile operating system, into a manufacturer of cellphones, although Google did say that Motorola Mobility will remain a seperate business.
In a statement, Google CEO Larry Page (pictured) said, “Motorola Mobility’s total commitment to Android has created a natural fit for our two companies. Together, we will create amazing user experiences that supercharge the entire Android ecosystem for the benefit of consumers, partners and developers. I look forward to welcoming Motorolans to our family of Googlers.”
Page also wrote on the official Google blog that the move won't change the company's strategy of running Android as an open platform.
"Motorola will remain a licensee of Android and Android will remain open," said Page. "We will run Motorola as a separate business. Many hardware partners have contributed to Android’s success and we look forward to continuing to work with all of them to deliver outstanding user experiences."
After the surprise acquisition was announced on Monday, speculation mounted that Google's attraction to Motorola stemmed from its patent portfolio. Motorola boasts 17,000 patents, to Google's 1,000.
