Google’s Motorola Mobility subsidiary has agreed to sell its Motorola Home set-top box business to communications technology firm Arris for $2.35bn.
Motorola Home generated revenues of $3.4bn for the trailing four quarters ended 30 September 2012, and as per the deal, Google will have about 15.7% ownership interest in Arris post-closing.
Arris said it expects the acquisition to be significantly accretive to its non-GAAP earnings in the first full year after closing.
The deal is expected to increase Arris’ patent portfolio and offer a license to an array of Motorola Mobility patents. The transaction is anticipated to close by the second quarter of 2013, subject to customary approvals and closing conditions.
Upon completion, both Arris and Motorola Home will have presence in 70 countries worldwide with more than 500 customers.
Motorola Mobility chief executive officer Dennis Woodside said: "The industry faces its biggest technology transformation, and together ARRIS and Motorola will be able to accelerate related innovations such as the introduction of the IP Connected Home environments that service providers need and that their consumers crave."
ArrIs Chairman and CEO Bob Stanzione said: "This transformational combination of two complementary businesses will create a leading end-to-end provider of today’s video, data, and voice products and tomorrow’s next-generation IP-based broadband products."
Google acquired Motorola Home as part of its $12.5bn acquisition of Motorola Mobility in May this year. Selling of this section of the business will mean Google can concentrate on the mobile handset side of Motorola.
