Taiwan’s struggling smartphone maker HTC said on Thursday it would sell part of its smartphone business to Google for $1.1 billion as the US giant looks to take greater control of its hardware business. Google will take on half of HTC’s research staff — about 2,000 people — many of whom have already been working on the Silicon Valley firm’s Pixel handset, as well as intellectual property (IP) licensing.
HTC said in a statement the deal is expected to be completed early next year, pending regulatory approval. “For Google, this agreement further reinforces its commitment to smartphones and overall investment in its emerging hardware business. In addition to the talented and experienced team of professionals, Google will continue to have access to HTC’s IP to support the Pixel smartphone family. This agreement also represents a significant investment by Google in Taiwan as a key innovation and technology hub,” HTC spokesman Peter Shen told a press conference in Taipei.
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