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While it appeared that Google had already completed one of its obligations in its proposed sale of Motorola Mobility to Lenovo, that is apparently not the case.
A regulatory filing appeared to show that the Web giant bought a 5.94 percent stake in the Chinese electronics maker for $750 million last week, according to Reuters. Google was said to have acquired 618.3 million shares of Lenovo at an average $1.213 per share on January 30, according to the report.
The investment is apparently part of the $2.91 billion deal to sell Motorola Mobility to Lenovo, which was announced a day earlier on January 29. In addition to $660 million in cash, Lenovo plans to pay $1.5 billion in the form of a three-year promissory note.
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However, Recode’s Ina Fried reports that the filing merely reflects the stake Google could own once the proposed deal closes. Indeed, a Lenovo representative later told CNET that the transaction would take place once the sale was complete.
In addition to the Motorola brand and its portfolio of devices, Lenovo will also receive more than 2,000 patent assets, while Google will retain control of a majority of the patents it originally obtained when it acquired Motorola several years ago.
The deal should get a green light from US regulators, but the company will likely have to agree to certain concessions in the name of US national security. The purchase still faces a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a federal agency that looks out for potential US national security issues.
Updated at 11:30 p.m. PT with Recode doubts of the investment. The headline was modified to reflect that skepticism.
Updated 2/8 at 9 a.m. to correct that the transaction would occur when the deal is complete.
