Google sells Motorola Mobility to Lenovo for $2.9bn

The search engine giant paid $12.5bn for the company less than two years ago, attracted by its trove of 17,000 patents. In a statement, Google said the move would enable it to devote more energy to driving innovation across the Android ecosystem. "The smartphone market is super competitive, and to thrive it helps to be all-in when it comes to making mobile devices," the company said in a blog post. "It's why we believe that Motorola will be better served by Lenovo." Once the deal is approved in the US and China, the plan is for Google to retain the majority of Motorola's patents, which it says it will continue to use to 'defend the entire Android ecosystem'. As a side note, the company said the move did not signal a larger shift for its other hardware efforts. "The dynamics and maturity of the wearable and home markets, for example, are very different from that of the mobile industry," noted Google ceo Larry Page. "We're excited by the opportunities to build amazing new products for users within these emerging ecosystems."