Lenovo has a few billion dollars to throw around, apparently. The company, typically known for consumer and enterprise PCs, just finished buying more food off of IBM's plate with the acquisition of their x86 server and mainframe business. That business was not as profitable for IBM compared to their rest of their portfolio. $2.3 billion, mostly in cash, was the better choice for them (albeit a reluctant one).
Another $2.9 billion yields Lenovo a lean subset of Motorola.
Not Google, either.
Lenovo has been wanting a bigger share of the phone and tablet market. Unlike when Google purchased Motorola, Lenovo was not as concerned with owning the patent portfolio. $2.9 billion is a small fraction of $12.5 billion sum that Google valued Motorola at, but Lenovo only wanted about a tenth of the patents. That said, a tenth of the patents is still a couple thousand of them.
For the longest time, I have been thinking that Google was going the wrong route with Motorola. It seemed like any attempt to use the company as a cellphone manufacturer would either bleed money in failure or aggravate your biggest partners. I figured it would be best for Google to pivot Motorola into a research company which would create technologies to license to handset developers. This could be a significant stream of revenue and a love letter to their OEMs while retaining the patents they desired.
I did not think to spin off or sell the rest.
Ironically, that is very close to what we have today. Google, eventually, got rid of the cellphone division except for their licensed "Nexus" trademark. Google kept their patents and they kept the Motorola research team ("Motorola Advanced Technology and Patents Group").
It does not quite line up with my expectation, however; at least not yet. The Motorola research team would need to produce technology to license to partners and maybe other handset manufacturers; also, the time they spent with their toe in handset development bathwater could have already harmed their relationships, irreparably.
As for Lenovo, it seems like a clear win for the company. Motorola still has significant brand power and an open dialog with carriers worldwide at a cost of just a few billion. I do have questions how Lenovo will integrate the brand into their portfolio. Specifically, which company's name will be on each product? I expect it would have to be "Lenovo" but I also believe they have to put the Motorola trademark somewhere, right?
Anyway, who do you predict Lenovo to purchase next? Has the insanity ended?
Google lost no money on the
Google lost no money on the deal, they only sold 2.9 billion, the phone devices part, the remaining assets are still in googles hands, including the money making patents group. If google wants a phone made, I am sure Lenovo would be happy to have the contract, and google rids themselves of the costs of maintaining an unprofitable division. Lenovo Is a devices maker, I am sure that they could better utilize the Motorola/Google design engineers across their product line. Google keeps their Patents Group, shields Android from the lawsuits, and also develops a business relationship with Lenovo. Any losses on Google’s part for the entire Motorola acquisition can be written down against taxes.
Yeah, I said Lenovo purchased
Yeah, I said Lenovo purchased "a lean subset of Motorola".
You need a copy editor!
You need a copy editor!
“Another $2.9 billion yields them(1) a lean subset of Motorola”
should say “Lenovo buys Motorola: the latest news on Google’s big sale”
Refrences to articles should be by article title, and any analysis in your own words should be with the text of your article. Hyperlink by Title of refrenced article.
(1) [them] I am not sure who the [them] Pronoun refrences. IBM?
This article is not very cogent, as it is unclear if it is about Patents, a purchase of any tangible assets, or both!
English Teachers, will be using your articles as learning exercises, in ways that will not be very flattering, and a copy editor is a must have. Strunk and White’s “The Elements of Style.”, and a good grammer book and dictionary/thesaurus would be a start.
Beijing spending money to buy
Beijing spending money to buy assets in the US.
I think Japan was in the last release of this movie.