The European Commission (EC) has given its approval to the acquistion of Motorola Mobility by Google.
The regulator said in a statement that the deal “would not significantly modify the market situation in respect of operating systems and patents for…
The European Commission (EC) has given its approval to the acquistion of Motorola Mobility by Google.
The regulator said in a statement that the deal “would not significantly modify the market situation in respect of operating systems and patents for these devices.”
Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said: “We have approved the acquisition of Motorola Mobility by Google because, upon careful examination, this transaction does not itself raise competition issues. Of course, the Commission will continue to keep a close eye on the behaviour of all market players in the sector, particularly the increasingly strategic use of patents”.
The regulator said its investigation concluded that “it is unlikely that Google would restrict the use of Android solely to Motorola, a minor player in the European Economic Area, as compared to operators such as Samsung and HTC.”
But the regulator also noted that the clearance decision “is without prejudice to potential antitrust problems related to the use of standard essential patents in the market in general. However, any such issues would not arise specifically as a result of the proposed transaction.”
