Google yesterday announced that it had received Chinese regulatory approval for their proposed merger. It was the last regulatory hurdle that the two companies needed before closing the acquisition. Bloomberg received confirmation from both companies with Motorola’s statement saying:
“We are pleased the deal has received approval in all jurisdictions. We expect to close imminently.”
China’s approval comes with the condition that Android remain free and open for the next five years.
The deal not only makes Google an Android manufacturer, a move that has some of its other partners nervous, but it also gives it some 17,000 Motorola patents and and another 7,500 patent applications. It should be able to use these to defend Android in a number of legal actions brought about by competitors.
Google received similar approvals from the European Commission and U.S. Department of Justice back in February.
Read more: Bloomberg