Motorola Mobility Reveals the Truth Behind Google’s Purchase

Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:MMI) revealed that Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) purchased it primarily for its patents. The $12 billion bid came through after Motorola said Google must buy the entire company just for the patents.

Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) appears to be positioning itself for a patent war with arch rival Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL). Recently Google lent one of Asia’s largest smartphone manufacturers HTC nine of its patents to file a law suit against Apple. Google’s purchase of Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:MMI) gives the tech giant an additional 17,000 patents to enforce. And enforcement is heating up. Just a couple weeks ago, Openwave (NASDAQ:OPWV) filed suit against Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Research in Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) for patent violations.

Google trades close to $530 a share at a P/E ratio of about 19 which is much higher than its peers. The company also trades at a sales multiple of 5.1 which is significantly higher than its industry rivals.

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