14 DAY TRIAL // Google and Motorola are now one step closer to finalizing the proposed acquisition and merger that were announced last year.
On Monday, both the European Commission and the US Department of Justice announced that they approved of the deal.
The European Commission has announced that it had cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Motorola Mobility by Google.
The Commission notes that the deal won’t significantly modify the market situation when the available smartphone operating systems out there and patents for these devices are taken into consideration.
Joaquín Almunia, Commission Vice President in charge of competition policy, said: "We have approved the acquisition of Motorola Mobility by Google because, upon careful examination, this transaction does not itself raise competition issues.”
“Of course, the Commission will continue to keep a close eye on the behavior of all market players in the sector, particularly the increasingly strategic use of patents.”
At the same time, the Antitrust Division announced that the acquisition was not expected to substantially lessen competition, and decided to close the investigation on the matter.
“In all of the transactions, the division conducted an in-depth analysis into the potential ability and incentives of the acquiring firms to use the patents they proposed acquiring to foreclose competitors,” the division noted, referring to this deal and two others.
Additionally, Google announced that they were currently waiting green light from other jurisdictions, and that the transaction would be closed soon after all the necessary approvals were received.
“This is an important milestone in the approval process and it moves us closer to closing the deal. We are now just waiting for decisions from a few other jurisdictions before we can close this transaction,” Don Harrison, vice president & deputy general counsel, noted in a blog post.
“As we outlined in August, the combination of Google and Motorola Mobility will help supercharge Android. It will also enhance competition and offer consumers faster innovation, greater choice and wonderful user experiences.”