Earlier this year, Google sold Motorola Mobility to Lenovo for $2.91 billion in cash and stock. Just three years ago, Google bought the company for $12.5 billion, but this isn’t as terrible a business deal as it might appear: while Lenovo gets the phone business, Google gets to keep the company’s valuable library of patents.

Google spent $12.5 billion on the company, maker of many well-respected handsets that run Google’s Android phone and tablet operating system. Motorola Mobility doesn’t turn a profit, but Lenovo now has a reputation for buying brands with a lot of potential and nurturing them into a bigger business. There are even rumors that the company may be looking to purchase Blackberry, an even more troubled smartphone maker. and has been focusing on lower-end smartphones for developing markets.

Lenovo is now the top computer manufacturer in the world, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that consumers want to buy a smartphone from them. The company plans to keep Motorola Mobility’s headquarters in Chicago, and keep the Motorola brand. That’s smart, since the brand has 8% of the market.

It’s official: Motorola Mobility now belongs to Lenovo [CNET]

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