Google is reportedly planning to acquire HTC’s smartphone business. The Taiwanese company has been struggling with its smartphone business as it has recently seen the lowest monthly revenue figure in years.
According to a report published in the Chinese publication Commercial Times, HTC is in the “final stage of negotiation with Google for selling its smartphone business unit”. The deal will be materialized by the end of the year at the latest, as per the report.
The report claims Google is considering two options to make the deal with HTC. The search giant is planning to either become a strategic partner or out rightly acquire the entire smartphone unit. However, HTC’s Vive, the VR system of the company will be off the table and it will remain a separate unit.
It is still not clear what the deal might involve. It is to be noted that a close partnership already exists between the two companies. Google’s Pixel and Pixel XL devices were manufactured by HTC. Also, there have been reports that HTC will manufacture the Pixel 2 smartphone.
There could be two reasons behind this possible acquisition- Google needs a manufacturer for its Pixel smartphones and HTC has just suffered its worst financial month in August. During that month, HTC brought in just $99.69 million revenue, which is a decline of 51.5% from July.
HTC unveiled its premium flagship smartphone HTC U11 in India at Rs 51,990 which the company claimed to have the highest-rated smartphone camera in the world. However, the phone did not sell very well.
So, if the deal materializes, it would be second such acquisition for Google. To recall, Google had bought Motorola Mobility back in 2012 for $12.5 billion. However, the acquisition did not last long and Google had to sell Motorola to Lenovo in 2014.
