Steve Kovach September 07, 2017 at 12:41PM
Google may be close to buying the smartphone business of HTC, the troubled consumer electronics maker based in Taiwan.
According to a report in a Taiwanese publication (Google Translate version here), the two companies are in the final stages of acquisition talks. The report does not say how much Google may buy HTC for.
A note from UBS on Thursday, citing the Commercial Times news article, says that the deal would only involve HTC's smartphone R&D team.
A Google spokesperson declined to comment, but didn't deny the report. An HTC spokesperson declined to comment.
The Commercial Times article did not cite a price for the acquisition, but UBS said it expected that a deal would be immaterial to Google-parent company Alphabet's financials.
According to a Bloomberg report last month, HTC has been exploring its options as its smartphone sales dwindle and its VR headset business struggles to take off. One option on the table was to spin out the VR division and sell the smartphone business, according to the report.
History repeating itself
It would be an odd move for Google, assuming the deal goes through. In 2011, Google bought Motorola for $12.5 billion in a effort to ramp up its hardware ambitions. Motorola released a few handsets while operating as a Google subsidiary, but none of them were blockbusters.
In 2014, Google dumped Motorola and sold it to Lenovo for $2.9 billion.
Back to hardware
But Google has a renewed interest in hardware, and it's seen as a growth area for the company outside its core ad business.
Last year, Google formed a new hardware division under former Motorola CEO Rick Osterloh. Osterloh's group was responsible for products like last year's well-received Pixel phones, Google Home Speaker, and Daydream View VR headset. Google partnered with HTC to manufacture the Pixel phone.
Google is expected to release an update to the Pixel phone and a new touchscreen Chromebook in October.
Do you know anything about the potential Google and HTC deal? Email skovach@businessinsider.com and you'll be kept anonymous.
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Google is said to be close to buying HTC's smartphone business (GOOG, GOOGL) from Business Insider: Steve Kovach
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