Google Bought Motorola to Keep it Out of Microsoft's Hands: Report

Google's GOOG $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility was a calculated defensive play against Microsoft MSFT, according to a report from Gigaom.com. Monday's announcement of Google's newest acquisition sent the tech blogosphere into hyper mode, as critics and supporters sounded off on the move's potential implications. It now appears that Google was more interested in blocking Microsoft's purchase of Motorola's 17,000 patents than running a hardware business. As Om Malik notes, "Our sources say that Motorola was in acquisition talks with several parties, including Microsoft for quite some time. Microsoft was interested in acquiring Motorola's patent portfolio that would have allowed it to torpedo Android even further. The possibility of that deal brought Google to the negotiation table, resulting in the blockbuster sale." There are many strategies that the search giant could pursue. Google could make advanced handsets with Motorola's engineers and technology. Or, as some writers have suggested, Motorola could just be spun off without the extensive patent portfolio. Apparently, Google CEO Larry Page and Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha began talking 5 weeks ago. Google's strong balance sheet allows for the purchase, and losses in recent patent auctions to Microsoft and Apple AAPL almost forced management's hand. Google's Android mobile operating software has exploded in growth in the past year. Google is undoubtedly looking to protect recent market share gains and extend its attack mode against Microsoft and Apple.