China OKs Google's $12.5B Acquisition of Motorola Mobility, Deal to Close This Week

Google has confirmed on Saturday, May 19, that it finally won Chinese approval to complete its acquisition of Motorola Mobility. According to several reports, however, China's blessing came with one condition: a renewed commitment that Android will continue to be freely available for at least five years.

Google's acquisition of Motorola Mobility required approval by a series of regulators worldwide, not just the United States and Europe. The U.S. Justice Department and European Union regulators gave their blessings back in February 2012, leaving Israel, Taiwan, and China to consider the merger. China was the last link in the approval process.

China's request was described as a "main condition" for approval, an unnamed source told Reuters. The source spoke under condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to publicly discuss the deal.

"We are pleased the deal has received approval in all jurisdictions," Motorola Mobility told Bloomberg BusinessWeek in an emailed statement, confirming that Chinese regulators have approved the deal. "We expect to close imminently." Google did not comment on the "main condition," but seems to have a professional view on both the deal and its approach to Android. "Our stance since we agreed to acquire Motorola has not changed," said Niki Fenwic, a spokesperson for Google. "And we look forward to closing the deal."

Google's Acquisition of Motorola Raises Concerns

Google took the Android ecosystem by surprise last year when it announced its intentions to buy Motorola Mobility in a $12.5 billion deal. According to data compiled by Bloomberg, the acquisition is the largest wireless-equipment deal in at least a decade. So far, Google has not been very involved in the device market itself, settling only for giving manufacturers a slight push with its Nexus range of "pure Android" phones.

Now, however, there are suspicions that Google might adopt a more aggressive approach by acquiring Motorola Mobility and follow Apple's lead to leave out other Android OEMs such as Samsung and HTC. Upon mounting concern, Google executives promised this would not happen. According to the Wall Street Journal, Google was in fact preparing to work with multiple manufacturers to launch the next version of Android rather than choosing a single device manufacturer. The Journal's report also said the search giant would start selling the devices directly through its Web site and through some retail partners.

China's condition for openness would mean that Android will continue to be available to everyone, at least for five years, but full details of the deal have not been disclosed. According to a spokesperson for Motorola Mobility, the acquisition is expected to complete early next week. This deal will grant Google more than 17,000 patents from Motorola Mobility, bolstering its stance amid legal disputes over its Android software.

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