China Clears Google's Motorola Takeover

Google's $12.5 billion bid for Motorola got the OK from Chinese authorities yesterday, the last regulatory obstacle in the online giant's quest to move into mobile phone production, reports Reuters. A condition for China's approval requires Google to keep its Android software free and open for at least five years.

Google announced the move to acquire the mobile manufacturer and its 17,000 patents and 7,500 patent applications last August, and won European and US regulatory approval in February. "Our stance since we agreed to acquire Motorola has not changed, and we look forward to closing the deal," said Google's spokeswoman; Motorola separately predicted the deal would close early next week.