Google and Motorola Mobility have entered into a definitive agreement under which Google will acquire Motorola Mobility for USD 40 per share in cash, or a total of about USD 12.5 billion, a premium of 63 percent to the closing price of Motorola Mobility shares on 12 August of this year. The transaction was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies. The acquisition of Motorola Mobility, a dedicated Android partner, will enable Google to supercharge the Android ecosystem and will enhance competition in mobile computing. Motorola Mobility will remain a licensee of Android and Android will remain open. Google will run Motorola Mobility as a separate business. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory approvals in the US, the European Union and other jurisdictions, and the approval of Motorola Mobility's stockholders. The transaction is expected to close by the end of this year or early 2012. Motorola Mobility has made up of two divisions: Mobile Devices and Home. In a blog post, Google CEO Larry Page calls the acquisition a move to supercharge Android, while referring to the ongoing patent battles between several handset manufacturers like Samsung, Apple, Nokia, HTC and Motorola. Page also refers to Google's public accusation made about companies including Microsoft and Apple banding together in anti-competitive patent attacks on Android and writes that "the acquisition of Motorola will increase competition by strengthening Google's patent portfolio, which will enable us to better protect Android from anti-competitive threats from Microsoft, Apple and other companies."
