Google has agreed to acquire Motorola Mobility in a deal worth $12.5 billion. Everything’s expected to be finalised towards the end of this year or in early 2012.
In a blog post, CEO Larry Page said “Motorola’s total commitment to Android in mobile devices is one of many reasons that there is a natural fit between our two companies. Together, we will create amazing user experiences that supercharge the entire Android ecosystem for the benefit of consumers, partners and developers everywhere. This acquisition will not change our commitment to run Android as an open platform. Motorola will remain a licensee of Android and Android will remain open. 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.”
The move also strengthens Google’s patent portfolio, helping it defend the Android operating system from competitors.