According to a report from Reuters, citing its usual “sources familiar with the matter,” Google is in the process of creating a new late-stage investment group that its current chief of mergers and acquisitions David Lawlee will oversee. The report did not provide much more information, but it claimed the new investment fund would focus on “longtime and outgoing corporate development.” Replacing Lawlee as head of M&A at Google is one of Google’s lawyers, Don Harrison:
Don Harrison, a high-ranking lawyer at Google, will replace Lawee as head of the Internet search company’s mergers and acquisitions team.
As expected, the European Commission cleared Google’s $12.5 billion acquisition of handset maker Motorola Mobility following a short period of back and forth between the Internet giant and European regulators. A statement issued by the European Commission said the transaction was approved “mainly because it would not significantly modify the market situation in respect of operating systems and patents for these devices.”
The Justice Department should approve the transaction this week, if the Wall Street Journalis to be trusted. When it finally goes through (and that’s a when at this stage, not an if), Google will gain control of Motorola’s extensive patent portfolio and use it to deflect Android patent attacks by Apple, Oracle, and Microsoft. The Commission noted it would continue to keep a close eye on “the increasingly strategic use of patents.” As you know, Apple is pressuring European Union regulators to establish consistent royalty fees for patents deemed essential to wireless standards.
Google’s Vice President and Deputy General Counsel Don Harrison wrote on the official company blog that Google is now “just waiting for decisions from a few other jurisdictions before we can close this transaction.” He maintained the company line that the deal will “enhance competition and offer consumers faster innovation, greater choice and wonderful user experiences.”
