Lenovo Group is buying the Motorola handset division at Google for nearly $3 billion. Google confirmed the purchase in a statement released late this afternoon.
In that statement, Google said it would retain ownership “of the vast majority of the Motorola Mobility patent portfolio, including current patent applications and invention disclosures. As part of its ongoing relationship with Google, Lenovo will receive a license to this rich portfolio of patents and other intellectual property.”
Lenovo will also receive more than 2,000 patent assets, in addition to the Motorola Mobility brand and trademark portfolio.
Lenovo, based in Beijing, has recently done well with sales of smartphones in China and other parts of Asia, but has long had interests in finding ways into the U.S. and other markets, according to analysts. Last week, Lenovo announced plans to buy IBM’s X86 server business for $2.3 billion to help it expand beyond PCs, smartphones, tablets and smartphones.
Lenovo is already the world’s largest PC vendor, thanks to its keeping PC costs low and recent gains in market share. But PCs are losing popularity as more people move to tablets and smartphones, which helped set the stage for Lenovo’s purchase.
Yang Yuanqing, chairman and CEO of Lenovo, said in the statement that the purchase will allow Lenovo to expand its smartphone business rapidly.
“The acquisition of such an iconic brand, innovative product portfolio and incredibly talented global team will immediately make Lenovo a strong global competitor in smartphones,” Yuanqing said. “We will immediately have the opportunity to become a strong global player in the fast-growing mobile space. We are confident that we can bring together the best of both companies to deliver products customers will love and a strong, growing business.”
