Google to buy Motorola Mobility

Google has agreed to buy Motorola Mobility Holdings for about $12.5 billion, gaining wireless patents.

Google has agreed to buy Motorola Mobility Holdings for about $12.5 billion, gaining wireless patents.

Motorola shareholders will get $40 a share in cash, the companies said in a statement today. That's 63 per cent more than Motorola Mobility's closing price on the New York Stock Exchange on August 12th. Both boards have approved the deal.

Google, whose Android software runs mobile phones made by Motorola Mobility and companies such as Samsung Electronics, gains patents it needs to compete against Apple's iPhone.

Last month, billionaire Carl Icahn urged Motorola Mobility to explore alternatives for its patent portfolio after Nortel Networks sold wireless-technology intellectual property for $4.5 billion.

Bloomberg