Google has confirmed on its website that it has sold its Motorola unit to Chinese PC maker Lenovo for $2.91 billion. The deal consists of $660 million in cash and $750 million in Lenovo shares, while the remaining $1.5 billion will be paid through a three-year promissory note.
Not only Lenovo receives the Motorola brand, but also its array of current devices, which includes the Moto X and Moto G. The Chinese company will also get over 2,000 patent assets, while Google will keep control for most of the patents it originally acquired from its past acquisition of Motorola.
The deal would give Lenovo an established global brand, hoping to replicate its successful smartphone business outside China. Google, meanwhile, would shed off a unit that has constantly dragged down its profits.
Motorola posted losses over the last year or so. The most recent quarter, for instance, Motorola posted an operating loss of $248 million, higher than what it lost a year earlier.
The deal comes as a surprise as analysts see Google shifting towards creating its own hardware.
Source: CNET
Image source: CNET
