MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. and
TAIPEI, Taiwan, Sept. 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Google
(NASDAQ: GOOG, GOOGL) and HTC Corporation (TWSE: 2498) today
announced a definitive agreement under which certain HTC employees
– many of whom are already working with Google to develop Pixel
smartphones – will join Google. HTC will receive US$1.1 billion in cash from Google as part of the
transaction. Separately, Google will receive a non-exclusive
license for HTC intellectual property (IP).
The agreement is a testament to the decade-long strategic
relationship between HTC and Google around the development of
premium smartphones.
This agreement also supports HTC's continued branded smartphone
strategy, enabling a more streamlined product portfolio, greater
operational efficiency and financial flexibility. HTC will continue
to have best-in-class engineering talent, which is currently
working on the next flagship phone, following the successful launch
of the HTC U11 earlier this year. HTC will also continue to build
the virtual reality ecosystem to grow its VIVE business, while
investing in other next-generation technologies, including the
Internet of Things, augmented reality and artificial
intelligence.
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. Additionally, this agreement
also represents a significant investment by Google in Taiwan as a key innovation and technology
hub.
"As a pioneer of the smartphone market, we are very proud of our
history of innovation. Our unmatched smartphone value chain,
including our IP portfolio, and world-class talent and system
integration capabilities, have supported Google in bolstering the
Android market," said Cher Wang,
Chairwoman and CEO of HTC. "This agreement is a brilliant next step
in our longstanding partnership, enabling Google to supercharge
their hardware business while ensuring continued innovation within
our HTC smartphone and VIVE virtual reality businesses. We believe
HTC is well positioned to maintain our rich legacy of innovation
and realize the potential of a new generation of connected products
and services."
"HTC has been a longtime partner of Google and has created some
of the most beautiful, premium devices on the market," said
Rick Osterloh, Senior Vice President
of Hardware at Google. "We're excited and can't wait to welcome
members of the HTC team who will be joining Google to fuel further
innovation and future product development in consumer
hardware."
The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals and
customary closing conditions, is expected to close by early
2018.
Evercore served as financial advisor to HTC and Gibson Dunn and
Tsar & Tsai acted as legal counsel. Lazard served as financial
advisor to Google and Cleary
Gottlieb and Lee & Li acted as legal counsel.
About HTC
HTC Corporation aims to bring brilliance to
life. As a global innovator in smart mobile and virtual reality
technology, HTC has produced award-winning products and industry
firsts since its inception in 1997, including the critically
acclaimed HTC U series line of smartphones and industry-leading HTC
VIVE virtual reality system. The pursuit of brilliance is at the
heart of everything we do, inspiring best-in-class design and
game-changing mobile and virtual reality experiences for consumers
around the world. HTC is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE:
2498). www.HTC.com
About Google
Google's mission is to organize the
world's information and make it universally accessible and useful.
Through products and platforms like Search, Maps, Gmail, Android,
Google Play, Chrome and YouTube, Google plays a meaningful role in
the daily lives of billions of people and has become one of the
most widely-known companies in the world. Google is a subsidiary of
Alphabet Inc.
Disclaimer:
This press release contains
forward‐looking statements which may include
projections of future results of operations, financial condition or
business prospects based on our own information and other sources.
Actual results of operations, financial condition or business
prospects may differ from those expressed or implied in these
forward‐looking statements for a variety of reasons,
including but not limited to market demand, price fluctuations,
competition, international economic conditions, supply chain
issues, exchange rate fluctuations and other risks and factors
beyond our control. The forward‐looking statements in
this release reflect the current belief of HTC as of the date of
this release. HTC undertakes no obligation to update these
forward‐looking statements for events or
circumstances that occur subsequent to such date.
View original content with
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/google-and-htc-announce-us11-billion-cooperation-agreement-300523328.html
SOURCE HTC Corporation