Slashdot Mirror
Google's Motorola Adventure: Stinging Defeat, Or Semi-Victory?
Nerval's Lobster writes "Google had previously sold Motorola's Home division for $2.4 billion. Combine that with yesterday's $2.91 billion sale of Motorola's remaining assets, subtract the $12.5 billion acquisition price for the company back in 2011, and Google's little smartphone adventure cost it roughly $7.1 billion even before you start throwing in expenses related to actual production, marketing, and personnel. That's a hefty chunk of change, but some analysts think the deal was ultimately a good one because it allowed Google to pick up patents, engineering talent, and insight into the mobile-device marketplace. It's debatable, however, whether those patents ultimately helped Android in the still-raging smartphone wars, and Google was slow to promote Motorola smartphones out of fear of irritating other Android manufacturers. At least Google can console itself with the thought that so many of its other acquisitions—including YouTube and DoubleClick—resulted in massive profits; but you can't hit a home run every time you step up to bat."
Google said in a filing that they valued the patents at $5.5 billion: http://dealbook.nytimes.com/20...
The cash and deferred tax assets stay with Motorola. Google does not magically get these. They are also no longer this large.
At least 5200.
About 4000 in August 2012 and another 1200 in March 2013.
Google didn't send a CEO to Moto to drive the business into the ground prior to acquisition and drive the price down. Motorola Mobility did that to themselves before Google got involved. They put the business in such a state that Google had to either buy it or let the patents for the cellular phone go to patent trolls. Those patents include codec patents important for Google's free and open codec. People seem to be forgetting that piece.
Help stamp out iliturcy.