Google offloads Moto STB business

Web giant Google has offloaded the Motorola Home business, which primarily makes set top boxes (STBs), to US firm Arris, in which it will also take an ownership stake.

Arris is to acquire the Motorola Home business from Google-owned Motorola Mobility, for $2.35bn in a cash-and-stock transaction. Under the terms of the agreement, Google will receive $2.05bn in cash and approximately $300m in newly issued Arris shares, representing an approximately 15.7 per cent ownership of the company.

The deal supports Arris’s next-generation consumer video products and services offering as well as expanding its patent portfolio and providing a license to a wide array of Motorola Mobility patents.

“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,” said Bob Stanzione, chairman and CEO of Arris. “Ever-expanding consumer demand for bandwidth will continue to drive growth across cloud and network technologies we provide that enable innovative home entertainment products and services.

“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.“

Together, Arris and Motorola Home will have a global presence with over 500 customers in 70 countries, more than tripling Arris pro forma combined revenue to approximately $4.7bn for the trailing four quarter period ended September 30, 2012.