Google Acquisition of Motorola Mobility to Undergo Intense Scrutiny
The US Department of Justice indicated on Wednesday it will take a closer look at Google’s proposed $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility, indicating an extensive review will take place before the deal is allowed to go through. Heavy scrutiny of its acquisitions is nothing new for Google, as most of its larger deals have been looked at very closely as its dominance of the Internet search market has grown to staggering proportions.
In addition to Google’s power in the search game, it has also begun to assert a dominance in the emerging smartphone market, as its Android OS recently surpassed Apple’s iOS as the most used in the market. This, analysts believe, is likely to be the focus of the Justice Department’s probe into the acquisition.
Despite the intense scrutiny into Google’s deals, none have been blocked so far. Antitrust experts expect regulators to approve the Motorola deal as well, as the deal will leave plenty of remaining mobile phone manufacturers competing in the growing market. If approved, the deal will be easily the largest in Google’s 13-year history. If regulators fail to allow the deal, Google has agreed to pay Motorola Mobility a $2.5 billion fee.
Despite Motorola’s place as a major smartphone manufacturer, Google is more interested in the 17,000 patents it holds, as the patents will help avoid future litigation for Google as the battle for smartphone supremacy rages on.
