Google has sold off Motorola to Lenovo for $2.9 billion ( £1.75 billion).
The deal comes less than two years after Google first bought the mobile company for some $12.5 billion ( £7.54 billion). In that time, the company has released the budget-focussed Moto G and the mid-tier Moto X Android handsets. The latter is due to release in Europe next week.
Under Google’s ownership, Motorola slashed its workforce from 20,000 to less than 4,000. Google will retain most of the company’s patents in the deal.
Larry Page, Google chief executive, explained the move, saying: “The smartphone market is super competitive and to thrive it helps to be all-in when it comes to making mobile devices.
“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.”
It’s not clear what Lenovo, a Chinese company, will do with Motorola from here.
Source: Market Watch
