Google is trying to spend more than $12 billion to buy Motorola and there is some concern that the European Union may have some issues with it but a new report from the Wall Street Journal suggests that the U.S. Justice Department will let the deal go through.
We’ll know by Monday if the EU has any beef with the deal and I’d imagine its concerns would revolve around patents and Google’s position in the Android chain. Additionally, the EU has been taking a close look at Google over the last few months.
While one could easily see this deal having a material impact on Samsung, HTC and others, I don’t really see how the U.S. government could stop the deal on anti-trust grounds. This isn’t AT&T trying to buy a competitor, as Google and Motorola don’t really compete in meaningful ways. Google is using its cash to enter some new market segments, as well as shore up its patent portfolio.
If you’re worried about what this will mean for Android, you should know that Google says it is committed to keeping it open and the independently-owned Motorola won’t get any special access. I’m not sure I buy that because it doesn’t make business sense for Google to not utilize all of its resources to better compete against Apple, particularly with the company being more focused and streamlined under Larry Page. Sure, you may argue that doing this will alienate some partners but the reach and appeal of the free Android operating system has few challengers – Windows Phone is good but costly and the open source webOS has no track record of success.
Whatever happens, it appears like we can all be on the lookout for a Googorola later this year.
[Via Wall Street Journal]