Google to Sell Motorola to Lenovo for $2.91 Billion

Though it has yet to be approved by the appropriate powers, Lenovo is set to purchase Motorola Mobility from Google for $2.91 billion. Google initially acquired Motorola in May 2012 for $40 per share with the stated purpose of gaining their patent porfolio.

According to Motorola, Google will retain the majority of the patent portfolio which will then be licensed by Lenovo, so it’s unclear whether they are actually losing money on this deal.

But the smartphone market is super competitive, and to thrive it helps to be all-in when it comes to making mobile devices. It’s why we believe that Motorola will be better served by Lenovo—which has a rapidly growing smartphone business and is the largest (and fastest-growing) PC manufacturer in the world. This move will enable Google to devote our energy to driving innovation across the Android ecosystem, for the benefit of smartphone users everywhere. As a side note, this does not signal a larger shift for our other hardware efforts. The dynamics and maturity of the wearable and home markets, for example, are very different from that of the mobile industry. We’re excited by the opportunities to build amazing new products for users within these emerging ecosystems.

image via Miguel Angel Aranda