Google Acquires Motorola for $12.5 Billion

On Tuesday CEO Larry Page announced over at their blog that Google has acquired Motorola Mobility, marking a significant milestone for the Internet services and computer software giant. Acquired for $12.5 Billion, Motorola is now headed by Dennis Woodside, one of the senior executives of Google. Former CEO of Motorola Mobility Sanjay Jha gives way to Woodside as new head. Jha will still play a role in ensuring as smooth a changeover as possible, as Google takes a giant, risky step for a company now handling hardware, in addition to standard software and online solutions.

While Google initially planned to settle only for the 17,000-plus Motorola patents, Woodside recently disclosed that the Motorola division of Google will focus on producing devices such as smartphones and tablet PCs. Speaking at a Bloomberg Businessweek interview prior to the closed deal, the new Motorola CEO believes this will allow Google to bring more innovative products into the mobile communications industry. He also says that bringing more success to Motorola and producing pioneering Android hardware products is a huge part of his job description.

Motorola is a pioneer in the mobile business, bringing to market the first cell phone in the eighties and introducing a wealth of features in mobile devices one decade later. Built through a tradition of innovation that spans 80 years, Motorola Mobility is now part of the company best known for its leading web search engine.

Google plans to maintain the “M” logo associated with Motorola for more than eight decades. As early as this first week of the acquisition, the new chief of Google’s Motorola division has already worked out three objectives for the brand. Not only does Woodside plan to ensure profitability for the new division, he also plans to utilize engineering resources provided for by Google to achieve various technical objectives in producing top-of-the-line mobile devices, and to install these into Motorola smartphones and tablets.

CEO Larry Page says he is confident about Woodside’s leadership, predicting that “Dennis and the team at Motorola will be creating the next generation of mobile devices that will improve lives for years to come.”