Motorola Home is to be sold to Arris in a $2.35 billion (€1.92bn) deal. The share transaction – the purchase of 100% of General Instrument stock held by current owners Google – includes around 2,000 granted and pending patents as well as provisions against potential litigation that includes action by TiVo.
“Acquiring Motorola Home builds on Arris’ rich history, creating a global player with significant footprint, revenue and cash flow,” said Bob Stanzione, chairman and CEO of Arris. “It also adds expertise in video and a larger presence in the home to our core strengths in voice and data, ensuring we are even better positioned to capitalize on and manage the evolution toward multi-screen home entertainment.”
The possibility of a sale of the Home business has been mooted since Google took control of Motorola in May. Only last week, UK-based Pace announced that it had tabled a bid for the company.
“We believe there will always be a device in the home and that will continue to evolve be it set-tops, gateways or clients. Support for these devices will focus around that gateway including the support for smart TVs and gateway or over-the-top services,” said Marwan Fawaz, the executive vice president of Motorola Mobility who leads Motorola Home.
Motorola Home generated revenues of $3.4 billion for the four quarters ending September 30, 2012. The combination is expected to generate approximately $100 – $125 million in annual cost synergies.
Stanzione said there was a small amount of liability relating to TiVo action, expected to go to jury in Q2 2013, but afterwards it was a matter for Google.
The transaction is expected to close by the second quarter of 2013, subject to customary approvals and closing conditions.
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