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Google shocked the tech world last year when they announced that they would acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion. Shareholders already approved the deal and many in the industry assume it will go through, but there are still a few hurdles left to clear before it becomes official. Motorola provided an update on the progress in yesterday’s earnings report.
In order to be approved antitrust clearances, or waiting period expirations, are required by the U.S. Department of Justice, European Commission, Canada, China, Israel, Russia, Taiwan and Turkey.
So far, clearances have only been received from Turkey and Russia. The waiting period has expired in the United States and Canada, but Motorola has been informed that the reviewing agencies have not finished their investigations. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced in December that they have moved on to phase two of its investigation.
Motorola “expects the transaction to close in early 2012″ but notes that “factors outside the company’s control” could “delay or prevent completion of the transaction altogether.”
The biggest obstacle to completing the transaction could come from Europe where consumer groups are urging the European Union to block the merger. Consumer Watchdog, a US-based advocacy group, has written a letter [.pdf] to the EU asking them to stop the deal.
Parts of the letter read, “Allowing the Motorola Mobility deal would provide Google with unprecedented dominance in virtually all aspects of the mobile world – manufacturing, operating systems, search and advertising. It would be a virtually unstoppable juggernaut. We urge the Commission to block the proposed $12.5 billion deal.”
Not only does the letter ask the EU to block the merger, but it also calls for an investigation into the Google’s alleged anti-competitive practices.
If you are not familiar with Consumer Watchdog, they have accused Google of engaging in “close relationships” with the U.S. governement and produced several videos attacking former Google CEO, Eric Schmidt.
The EU Commission was originally supposed to make a decision on the merger by January 10th, but that deadline was extended to February 13th after Google submitted additional documents to support its case.
At this point I doubt the deal will get killed, but anything is possible. There was a time when we thought that AT&T’s acquisition of T-Mobile was certain, and look how that turned out.
Source: Motorola
Taylor is the founder of Android and Me. He resides in Dallas and carries the Verizon Galaxy Nexus as his daily device. Ask him a question on Twitter or Google+ and he is likely to respond. Tagged#acquisition#Consumer Watchdog#EU#European Union Commission#February 13#google#googorola#merger#motorola#video .nrelate .nr_sponsored{ left:0px !important; }.nrelate .nr_sponsored{ left:0px !important; } 17 Comments Join the discussion!Sort by DateRating Let it through just to see what google will do with it…
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OwainGuest 7 hours ago Thumb upThumb down 0It is interesting, not overly concerning however. Then again do we want Android to be another Apple?
ReplyAnyone else think apple is behind the anti merger movement? Lol. Conspiracy conspiracy
ReplyNo conspiracy, I will be surprised if they are not behind it.
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99stenzor 6 hours ago Thumb upThumb down 0Well Steve Jobs did vow to destroy Android…
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98BetterWithRoot 6 hours ago Thumb upThumb down 0Maybe with a little of the RIAA and MPAA thrown in there as well. They weren’t too happy about the recent blackout.
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25Alan Reboli 7 hours ago Thumb upThumb down +1“Google with unprecedented dominance in virtually all aspects of the mobile world – manufacturing, operating systems, search and advertising. It would be a virtually unstoppable juggernaut.”
This is a really good argument against the merger. I still want it to happen, but it is something to think about!
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94AsakuraZero 7 hours ago Thumb upThumb down 0google wins more money with more OEM makers and handsets,than restricting it to one maker.
why?
google ads, market and all of those winnings are better in all market ranges (so we all can have android phone on entry, mid, and high levels), that is converted to money~
Reply KenGGuest 7 hours ago Thumb upThumb down +7Motorola has “dominance” in manufacturing? Did we go back in time 30 years or so?
I didn’t think that Motorola built their own hardware, but even if they did, it doesn’t give Google any advantage. Blocking this deal only helps Apple and Microsoft suppress innovation through the enforcement of their indefensibly granted patents.
ReplyApple is far more anti-competitive but they won’t ever be investigated in until they start gaining massive market share. It’s one of the major flaws with our anti-competitive legislation.
Reply 98BetterWithRoot 6 hours ago Thumb upThumb down 0OK, I was correct in wondering if their merger had gone through yesterday on this article.
ReplyThe consumer advocacy group is, obviously, a group of idiots. Without Motorola’s patent portfolio, the Android ecosystem is at risk being legally killed by Apple, which already does everything they oppose to.
Reply VanceGuest 6 hours ago Thumb upThumb down 0I would hope that somewhere in that letter they provided supporting evidence to back their claims that Google would see “unprecedented dominance in virtually all aspects of the mobile world – manufacturing, operating systems, search and advertising. It would be a virtually unstoppable juggernaut.”
I’m not sure how you quantify a “virtually unstoppable juggernaut” unless we’re talking MW3 here… and as for dominance in “virtually all aspects of the mobile world”.. (nice C.Y.A use of the word “virtually” in this piece btw) since when is Motorola a dominating force in manufacturing?? Apple manufactures it’s own hardware, how does it compare to Moto?? Again… show me the supporting numbers..
MikeGuest 5 hours ago Thumb upThumb down 0“Allowing the Motorola Mobility deal would provide Google with unprecedented dominance in virtually all aspects of the mobile world – manufacturing, operating systems, search and advertising. It would be a virtually unstoppable juggernaut.”
Wow, really? Kind of like what Apple already is with no one manufacturer of software/hardware to compete against them? Hey Apple, since you’re behind this, you might want to leave Google alone with this because without them, YOU are a monopoly. They might take your precious $80+ billion in cash away from you too!
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33droilfade 5 hours ago Thumb upThumb down 0Well….that video was kinda creepy! Yikes!
Reply JeromeGuest 3 hours ago Thumb upThumb down 0But isn’t Apple already set up like this at least without the arm that google has
Reply EspadaAGuest 2 hours ago Thumb upThumb down -1Awesome
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