Motorola is now a Lenovo company, sold for $2.91 billion

It’s official: Motorola is now a Lenovo company. The purchase is worth $2.91 billion, and includes $1.41 billion to be paid at closing. The rest will be in the form of a three year promissory note.

Of the $1.41 billion to be paid at the time of closing, $660 million will be cash, with the remaining portion ($750 million) being Lenovo common shares. This comes on the heels of Lenovo purchasing IBM’s server business a few days ago. For Google-Motorola fans, this closes the chapter indefinitely. The transaction is still subject to regulatory clearances, closing conditions, and any other approvals needed.

Since being acquired by Google for $12.5 billion, Motorola has seen a rapid uptick in both attention and activity. Their recent lineup, including the Moto X and Moto G, are among the better Android devices around. Yang Yuanqing, Chairman and CEO of Lenovo, had the following to offer about the transaction:

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. 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. Lenovo has a proven track record of successfully embracing and strengthening great brands – as we did with IBM’s Think brand – and smoothly and efficiently integrating companies around-the-world. I am confident we will be successful with this process, and that our companies will not only maintain our current momentum in the market, but also build a strong foundation for the future.

In the interest of rounding out the commentary, Google CEO Larry Page said “Lenovo has the expertise and track record to scale Motorola Mobility into a major player within the Android ecosystem. This move will enable Google to devote our energy to driving innovation across the Android ecosystem, for the benefit of smartphone users everywhere”. Dennis Woodside, CEO of Motorola, noted that for his company, this changes nothing. They’ll still be focussed on innovation and reaching “the next 100 million”. Google will, however, retain Motorola’s patent portfolio, though they’ll license it to Lenovo as part of the deal.
Source: Google