Nine months after revealing the intentions to acquire Motorola Mobility from Google, Lenovo on Thursday announced that it has completed the purchase of the smartphone maker.
With Motorola acquisition, Lenovo has become the third-latest smartphone maker in the world. Until now, the Chinese smartphone maker was jointly present on the fourth spot with LG as per IDC’s preliminary Q3 smartphone shipment numbers.
“Today we achieved a historic milestone for Lenovo and for Motorola – and together we are ready to compete, grow and win in the global smartphone market. By building a strong number three and a credible challenger to the top two in smartphones, we will give the market something it has needed: choice, competition and a new spark of innovation,” said Yang Yuanqing, chairman and CEO, Lenovo.
“This partnership has always been a perfect fit. Lenovo has a clear strategy, great global scale, and proven operational excellence. Motorola brings a strong presence in the U.S. and other mature markets, great carrier relationships, an iconic brand, a strong IP portfolio and an incredibly talented team. This is a winning combination,” added Yuanqing.
According to Lenovo, Motorola Mobility will work as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company with headquarters in Chicago.
In terms of the executives, Liu Jun, Lenovo executive vice president and president of Lenovo’s Mobile Business Group, has become the chairman of the Motorola Management Board and Rick Osterloh will continue to be the president and chief operating officer of Motorola.
On the financial side, the total purchase price of the Motorola Mobility was approximately US$2.91 billion for Lenovo. Google will keep majority of Motorola Mobility patents but Lenovo (via Motorola) will receive a license to this patent portfolio in addition to 2,000 patents, which it is keeping for itself.
Lenovo expects to make the Motorola business profitable in four to six quarters.
so Lenovo (and Motorola) is 3rd largest mobile manufacturer or 4th? considering Xiaomi jumped to third position today itself. Or did Xiaomi just lost its 3rd position minutes after grabbing it.
The latter..