Lenovo completes $2.9bn purchase of Motorola

Chinese computer maker Lenovo has completed its acquisition of Motorola Mobility from Google in a move aimed at developing a global smartphone brand.

Lenovo said it had completed the $2.9bn purchase, adding to a flurry of acquisitions and initiatives aimed at transforming the world’s biggest maker of personal computers into a major player in wireless computing.

Google bought Motorola Mobility in 2012 for $12.4bn but appeared to decide quickly that the purchase was a mistake.

It sold its set-top operations to Arris Group for $2.35bn and its smartphone assets, along with 2,000 patents, to Lenovo.

Lenovo chairman Yang Yuanqing said when the purchase was announced in January that it would help transform Lenovo into a global competitor in smartphones.

Motorola's smartphone models include the Moto X, Moto G, Moto E and the DROID series.

The unit’s headquarters will remain in Chicago. Lenovo is taking on 3,500 Motorola engineers, designers and other employees worldwide, including 2,800 in the US.