Lenovo Acquires Google's Motorola for $2.91 Billion (€2.13 Billion)

It looks like what started as a rumor earlier today proved to be 100% accurate, as Lenovo and Google have just announced they have reached an agreement for the acquisition of Motorola Mobility smartphone business.

Google purchased Motorola Mobility back in 2011 for $12.5 billion (€9.15 billion) and the agreement it has reached today with Chinese company Lenovo mentions it will only get $2.91 billion (€2.13 billion) for the company. That means Google has decided to sell Motorola at a huge loss. Even though the Motorola Mobility's smartphone business shrank over the years due to layoffs and closing of operations in almost all countries except the United States and Canada, the selling price is still far from what Google originally paid for it. The good news for Google is that the search giant will keep most of Motorola's patents, including current patent applications and invention disclosures, like Project Ara for example. Lenovo will still receive a license to Motorola's portfolio of patents and other intellectual property, along with over 2,000 patent assets, as well as the Motorola Mobility brand and trademark portfolio.

Aside from the current smartphones Motorola is already successfully selling in various countries (Moto X and Moto G), Lenovo has also confirmed it will take ownership of the future Motorola Mobility's roadmap. Under agreement, Lenovo will pay $1.41 billion (€1.03 billion) at close, comprised of $660 million (€483 million) in cash and $750 million (€549 million) in Lenovo ordinary shares (subject to a sharecap/floor). Furthermore, the remaining $1.5 billion (€1.1 billion) will be paid in the form of a three-year promissory note.

“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,” said Yang Yuanqing, chairman and CEO of Lenovo. “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,” said Larry Page, CEO, Google. “As part of Lenovo, Motorola Mobility will have a rapid path to achieving our goal of reaching the next 100 million people with the mobile Internet. With the recent launches of Moto X and Moto G, we have tremendous momentum right now and Lenovo’s hardware expertise and global reach will only help to accelerate this,” said Dennis Woodside, CEO, Motorola Mobility.

Lenovo logo
Image credits to Lenovo

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Samsung SM-G900L (Galaxy S5) Emerges in Korea with 5.1’’ 1080p Screen

Galaxy S5, the upcoming flagship smartphone from South Korean mobile phone maker Samsung, has been rumored to arrive on shelves in a variety of versions, and one of them seems to have just made an appearance in the company’s homeland country.

Featuring model number SM-G900L, which falls in line with the various Galaxy S5 versions, the new handset was spotted over at South Korean wireless carrier LG U+. The phone appeared there with a 5.1-inch display capable of delivering a 1080 x 1920 pixels resolution, as well as with the Android 4.4 KitKat operating system loaded on top. Previous reports on Galaxy S5 suggested that Samsung would plan on launching it in two different versions, Prime and Standard, with the latter featuring a full HD screen, and the former capable of delivering a 2k resolution. However, the phone was expected to sport a 5.2-inch screen in both variants, and the fact that this device is listed with a 5.1-inch panel comes as a surprise.

With the SM-G900 models supposedly confirmed to be part of the Galaxy S5 lineup, all that remains to be seen is an official announcement from Samsung on this handset and its actual capabilities. For the time being, however, we’ll take the possible info on its screen size and resolution with a grain of salt, as things might turn out differently in the end. As PhoneArena notes, there’s also the possibility that the flagship device will not feature the aforementioned SM-G900 model number, and that this will be a completely different handset from the leading vendor. Specifics on this might not become available until March, as the mobile phone is expected to be announced sometime in the middle of that month, during an event supposedly set to take place in London. Keep an eye on this space for more on the matter.

Samsung SM-G900L (Galaxy S5) at LG U+
Image credits to LG U+

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