Google buys HTC for $ 1.1 billion. Google buys a portion of HTC smartphone manufacturer for $ 1.1 billion. With the deal, the tech giant takes over a team from HTC, a large part of which has worked on the Pixel smartphone.
Also, Google is granted the non-exclusive rights to use HTC’s patents. The deal is expected to be completed by 2018, after approval by the supervisors.
Step Toward Hardware
For Google, the deal is a major step in hardware development for smartphones. At the moment, the company is still spending it, including HTC.
Google has been working with HTC for years. The Taiwanese company made the first Android phone in 2008.
Also, HTC made several Google Nexus devices, phones running an unapproved version of Android. The new Pixel line does the same, and HTC also manufactures those devices.
HTC Continues to Build Independently
HTC itself also manufactures smartphones. In a press release, it is written that a new top gear is currently being used. HTC continues to build and develop the HTC Vive, a VR spectacle.
Not the First Time
It’s not the first time Google purchases the field of smartphone manufacturers. In 2011, it bought $ 12.5 billion in Motorola’s phone division, but that went wrong.
Three years later, the company was sold back for $ 2.9 billion to Chinese Lenovo. Google retained the patents and the division that worked on the Modular Phone Project, Ara. However, it was declared dead by Google last year.
The deal with HTC is in any case financially a bit less risky (only 1.1 billion dollars). Many details have not been announced, but Google seems to have purchased knowledge in the form of staff and patents.