• Google to Acquire Motorola for $12.5 Billion

    // Gradly // Acquisition, blog, google, Mobile, News No Responses

    Google and Motorola Mobility have just announced an agreement whereby Google will acquire Motorola for $12.5 billion (or $40 per share).

    The acquisition of Motorola Mobility, a dedicated Android partner, will enable Google to supercharge the Android ecosystem and will enhance competition in mobile computing. Motorola Mobility will remain a licensee of Android and Android will remain open. Google will run Motorola Mobility as a separate business.

    Full press release below:

    Google to Acquire Motorola Mobility

    Combination will Supercharge Android, Enhance Competition, and Offer Wonderful User Experiences

    MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. & LIBERTYVILLE, Ill.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: MMI) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Google will acquire Motorola Mobility for $40.00 per share in cash, or a total of about $12.5 billion, a premium of 63% to the closing price of Motorola Mobility shares on Friday, August 12, 2011. The transaction was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies.

    “Motorola Mobility’s total commitment to Android has created a natural fit for our two companies. Together, we will create amazing user experiences that supercharge the entire Android ecosystem for the benefit of consumers, partners and developers. I look forward to welcoming Motorolans to our family of Googlers.”

    The acquisition of Motorola Mobility, a dedicated Android partner, will enable Google to supercharge the Android ecosystem and will enhance competition in mobile computing. Motorola Mobility will remain a licensee of Android and Android will remain open. Google will run Motorola Mobility as a separate business.

    Larry Page, CEO of Google, said, “Motorola Mobility’s total commitment to Android has created a natural fit for our two companies. Together, we will create amazing user experiences that supercharge the entire Android ecosystem for the benefit of consumers, partners and developers. I look forward to welcoming Motorolans to our family of Googlers.”

    Sanjay Jha, CEO of Motorola Mobility, said, “This transaction offers significant value for Motorola Mobility’s stockholders and provides compelling new opportunities for our employees, customers, and partners around the world. We have shared a productive partnership with Google to advance the Android platform, and now through this combination we will be able to do even more to innovate and deliver outstanding mobility solutions across our mobile devices and home businesses.”

    Andy Rubin, Senior Vice President of Mobile at Google, said, “We expect that this combination will enable us to break new ground for the Android ecosystem. However, our vision for Android is unchanged and Google remains firmly committed to Android as an open platform and a vibrant open source community. We will continue to work with all of our valued Android partners to develop and distribute innovative Android-powered devices.”

    The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory approvals in the US, the European Union and other jurisdictions, and the approval of Motorola Mobility’s stockholders. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2011 or early 2012.

  • Sony Acquires Sucker Punch Productions

    // Gradly // Acquisition, blog, Consoles, Games, News, PS3, Sony No Responses

    Sony announced on Tuesday it has purchased Sucker Punch Productions, developers of the Infamous and Sly Cooper franchises. This move ensures that all games developed by Sucker Punch will remain exclusive to Sony’s platforms going forward.

    “Sucker Punch Productions is one of the most highly acclaimed development studios in the industry and we have enjoyed a wonderful relationship with the company for over 12 years. We are delighted to officially welcome them to the SCE family,” said Shuhei Yoshida, president, SCE WWS.

    According to Sony, the Infamous and Sly Cooper franchises combined have sold over seven million copies worldwide to date. Day-to-day operations will continue to be run by the current management team.

    “We’ve enjoyed an incredible relationship with Sony that has allowed us to combine our creative design capabilities with their guidance to make some of the best franchises to hit the PlayStation platforms. Equally important, the relationship with SCE has provided us the flexibility and trust to take creative risks and invent new properties,” said Brian Fleming, managing partner, Sucker Punch Productions.

  • Mind Blowing 3D Maps by C3 Technologies [Updated]

    // Gradly // 3D, Acquisition, Apple, blog, google, iPad, iPhone, Microsoft, News, Rants & Raves, Tech. 7 Responses

    You are familiar with your current mapping services when it comes to Google Maps, Bing Maps or Google Earth, But a new technology will let you get beyond that and the Swedish company behind it thinks you actually deserve more and… seriously.

    Enter mind-blowing 3D mapping technology from Swedish startup C3 Technologies, the company that showcased their 3D maps on iPad at the CES show. Unlike your Ma and Pa’s maps, C3 Technologies calculates the terrain and buildings directly from aerial images. The approach takes into account the positions and angles of the cameras that took aerial images in order to give each pixel its geographical position with very high accuracy.

    When we say high precision, we mean it hundred percent because C3 maps incorporate recently declassified missile targeting technology by Saab, a well-known Swedish aerospace company. As a result of all this, you get military-grade, pixel-perfect realistic representation of the terrain that can be rotated and paned around to a stunning effect. And at CES, they showed off 3D view of San Francisco running surprisingly smoothly on an iPad, see above

    In addition to 3D maps, C3 also makes awesome street level imagery captured using “an advanced multiple camera system with overlapping viewing angles to capture the entire surroundings in stereo.” Topping it all off are incredible interior views of restaurants, hotels and other points of interest that can be found along the street.

    Don’t you think that would be amazing if this was chosen as the maps to power the upcoming iPhone 5?!

    Update:

    C3 Technologies was acquired in July and the buyer is a western company and currently kept secret. Certainly the big players such as Apple, Microsoft and Google are the prime candidates.

    As noted by macrumors, Apple is a good fit for the company, as they have already admitted to be working on their own turn-by-turn direction GPS service, and we’ve also found evidence that they have licensed map data from a number of companies. It would also reduce their dependance on Google’s mapping solution which presently is used on iOS devices. Apple previously purchased mapping company Placebase and has been aggressively hiring for their Geo Team to take Maps to the “next level”.

    [via brightsideofnews]

  • Facebook Acquires Interactive iPad Book Maker: Push Pop Press

    // Gradly // Acquisition, Apple, blog, Design, Facebook, iPad, iPhone, Social Networks No Responses

    Facebook has acquired Push Pop Press, the company behind iPad app “Our Choice,” based on a book by Al Gore. The company was co-founded by former Apple designer Mike Matas who was a lead designer of both the original iPhone and iPad interfaces. Facebook does not plan to sell interactive iPad books, but the technology and design talent will be used in Facebook’s future.

    Mike Matas demoed “Our Choice” at the TED conference this year to rave reviews.

    Statement from Facebook:

    We’re thrilled to confirm that we’ve acquired Push Pop Press, a startup whose groundbreaking software changes the way people publish and consume digital content. We can’t wait for co-founders Mike Matas and Kimon Tsinteris to get started, and for some of the technology, ideas and inspiration behind Push Pop Press to become part of how millions of people connect and share with each other on Facebook.


    [via allthingsd]