LIBERTYVILLE, Ill. — Motorola Mobility sank to a fourth-quarter loss while trying to close its proposed $12.5 billion sale to Google. The setback, announced Thursday, came amid fierce competition in the markets for smartphones and tablets.
The disappointing results mirrored preliminary numbers that Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. released three weeks ago.Motorola’s performance is probably a bigger concern to Google’s shareholders than Motorola’s because of the deal the two companies reached last summer. Google has agreed to pay $40 per share for Motorola’s vast patent portfolio, as well as its devices. The acquisition still needs regulatory approval in the U.S., Europe, China, Russia and several other countries.
Google Inc. is counting on Motorola’s more than 17,000 patents to help insulate its Android software for mobile devices against lawsuits alleging that the system stole innovations owned by other companies, including tech heavyweights such as Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Oracle Corp. But Google also plans to keep making devices under Motorola brand, raising potential hardware headaches for a company that has concentrated on Internet search and other online services until now.
Some analysts are worried Motorola Mobility will become a financial millstone that could drag down Google’s earnings growth.
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