Internet search engine concern Google has reached agreement to purchase the mobile phone division of the Motorola company for 12.5 billion dollars, dpa quoted the two sides as announcing Monday. With the purchase of the unit Mobile Mobility, Google hopes to bolster the position of its Android platform for smartphones, currently plagued by patent suits, and for tablet computers. The offer amounts to a 40 dollars per share in cash, a premium of 63 per cent over Motorola's market closing price on Friday. The purchase first must be approved by regulatory authorities. The two companies said they hoped to complete the transaction by the end of the year. The agreement comes only a few weeks after Google lost out in the bidding for the patent portfolio of mobile phone equipment company Nortel. Speculation of Google aiming for Motorola's cellphone unit first emerged in early 2010, with neither company at the time commenting.
