Here is an official news from Google.
Google has agreed to acquire a select team of engineers from HTC’s smartphone division for $1.1 billion in an all-cash deal. Under the terms of the unusual arrangement, the search giant won’t get a direct stake in HTC — instead, it’ll gain “non-exclusive” licensing rights to HTC’s current and future intellectual property. The engineers are people who have already worked with Google to develop its Pixel smartphones, and they will soon become “fellow Googlers.”
Rick Osterloh, senior vice president of hardware at Google, announced the news in a blog post late Wednesday night.
“These future fellow Googlers are amazing folks we’ve already been working closely on the Pixel smartphone line,” Osterloh wrote. “We’re excited to see what we can do together as one team.”
The transaction is expected to close by early 2018, once it’s been approved by regulators in the U.S. and HTC’s home country of Taiwan.
What it means for HTC
Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends
The billion-dollar deal doesn’t spell the end of HTC’s smartphone business. CEO and chairwoman Cher Wang said the Taipei company will continue to produce its own hardware, including phones in its flagship “U” series (most recently the HTC U11 Android smartphone), and Vive virtual reality ecosystem. Looking ahead, HTC will invest in “other next-generation technologies” including the Internet of Things, augmented reality, and artificial intelligence.
“As a pioneer of the smartphone market, we are very proud of our history of innovation,” Wang said in an emailed statement. “We believe HTC is well positioned to maintain our rich legacy of innovation and realize the potential of a new generation of connected products and services.”
For HTC, the acquisition’s timing couldn’t have been better. Its quarterly revenue hit a 13-year low in August.
What it means for Google
Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends
It’s a win-win for Google too, as the company emphasizes its focus on consumer hardware. It launched Chromecast, an easy-to-use streaming dongle, in 2013; and it was followed more recently with the Google Pixel smartphone; Google WiFi, a mesh-based home router; the Daydream View virtual reality headset; and Google Home, a smart home speaker designed to rival Amazon’s Echo speakers. Its new lineup of devices will be announced on October 4.
The deal isn’t the first time Google is tapping into a major smartphone manufacturer — Google bought Motorola in 2011 for $12.5 billion, but later sold it to Lenovo at a fraction of the price. Since then, Google has heavily relied on third-party manufacturers to make, produce, and ship its Nexus and Pixel devices. HTC served as an exclusive partner last year to manufacture the Pixel XL and Pixel, but it was a new start as Google said it controlled the whole production from top to bottom.
“We’re excited about the 2017 lineup, but even more inspired by what’s in store over the next five, 10, even 20 years,” said Osterloh. “Creating beautiful products that people rely on every single day is a journey, and we are investing for the long run.”
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