Google’s move to buy Motorola unit approved

Korea’s antitrust watchdog announced yesterday that it has approved Google’s move to purchase Motorola Mobility “with no strings attached,” saying that it would not restrain competition in related industries.

“Based on our reviews of opinions from stakeholders and global coordination [with foreign antitrust watchdogs], we have concluded that the deal will not limit market competition in related industries,” the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said in a press release.

Google announced last August that it would buy a 100 percent stake in Motorola Mobility, raising concern that the deal could have a significant impact on the landscape of the global mobile phone market. It notified Korea’s FTC of the deal in December.

The merger was expected to affect Korean mobile handset makers such as Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, which produce handsets that use Google’s Android.

“This case is meaningful in that [we] closely reviewed its anticompetition aspect through global cooperation with foreign authorities in such countries as the U.S. and the EU,” the FTC said. Yonhap