EU seen approving Google's Motorola deal - sources

Google Inc is expected to win approval next week from European regulators as well as U.S. antitrust authorities for its planned $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility, according to people familiar with the matter.

Web search leader Google, which is buying the handset maker to boost its patent portfolio, is seen winning unconditional EU clearance for the deal next week, two people with knowledge of the matter said on Friday. The U.S. Justice Department is also expected to approve the acquisition next week, two separate sources who are close to the antitrust review told Reuters on Thursday.

The European Commission is scheduled to decide by Monday whether to clear the deal. "The Commission is expected to clear this deal without requiring any concessions from Google," one of the people said. The European regulator is expected to say the deal will not stifle competition, two of the people said. One of the people said it was possible the Commission could decide on Monday to open an in-depth investigation into the deal instead of clearing it, but that this was highly unlikely.

Blessings from the EU realm as well

While the Justice Department and the Commission are coordinating their actions, it is possible the decisions may not come on the same day, another source familiar with the matter said. Representatives for Motorola and Google declined comment.

After U.S. and European approval, the companies would still need approval from China, which has until March 20 before it has to decide if it will approve the deal or start phase three of its deal review. Also, regulators in Israel and Taiwan have yet to sign off.

Google announced in August that it would buy Motorola for its 17,000 patents and its 7,500 pending patent applications as it looks to compete better with rivals such as Apple Inc and defend itself and manufacturers using its Android phone software in patent litigation cases. The legal patent war among technology and smartphone makers has prompted the Commission to open an investigation into legal tactics used by Samsung Electronics against Apple and whether these breach EU antitrust rules.

Earlier this week, Google pledged to license Motorola patents on fair and reasonable terms if the deal succeeds. In letters to standard-setting organisations around the world, it promised to keep a cap on the fees it charges for licensing its technology. That cap would be 2.25 percent of the net selling price for each phone. Google also outlined the conditions under which it would sue companies for patent infringement.

Microsoft Corp also promised on the same day not to seek injunctions to ban products based on standard-essential patents. In 2010, U.S. business software maker Oracle Corp won unconditional EU approval for its $7 billion takeover of Sun Microsystems, a month after a public pledge to rivals and users aimed at easing regulatory concerns.

Google shares were down 0.7 percent at $607.35 and Motorola Mobility shares were down 0.2 percent at $39.27 at midday on Friday.

Reuters