Mergers and Acquisitions (UPDATE)

Google is back in the news with another large sale M&A transaction, but this time, as the seller. In May of 2012, Google purchased Motorola for $12.5 billion in an effort to create a new means of producing hardware to operate the Android operating system.  Well this week, it seems Google is giving up, but wishing all the best to Lenova, a strong PC business growing in the smartphone market.  Google is selling its Motorola Mobility smartphone unit to Lenovo for $2.9 billion.  Notably, Google will still maintain ownership of most of the patent portfolio originally purchased in 2012.  Experts say that the low pricing of the sale is a result of Motorola standing as a recurring loser of profits for Google since the original purchase just one and a half years ago. Lenovo is hoping the acquisition strengthens its position in the smartphone market and promote its market presence in North America, Latin America, and Western Europe to complement its strong, fast-growing smartphone business in emerging markets around the world. Lenovo last week also purchased a low-end x86 server business from IBM for $2.3 billion.  These acquisitions signal the continuance of the theme of a recovering global economy as many companies seek to grow through expansion.