In August Google dropped an acquisition bombshell by announcing that it will be snapping up Android smartphone and tablet maker Motorola Mobility for $40 per share in cash, or a total of around $12.5 billion (one of our top 5 news stories for 2011) .  

But it seems like the nuptial plans might be put on ice, as European Union (EU) regulators have temporarily suspended their anti-trust investigation into the acquisition deal. According to Bloomberg, Europe’s antitrust authority has done so in order to assess further data concerning the deal.

EU regulators will move ahead with their review of this acquisition once they have received “certain documents that are essential to its evaluation of the transaction,” Amelia Torres, a spokeswoman for the Brussels-based European Commission told Bloomberg.

Google isn’t fazed by the temporary suspension though, describing the request for more info as “routine”. “We’re confident the commission will conclude that this acquisition is good for competition and we’ll be working closely and cooperatively with them as they continue their review,”  Al Verney, a spokesman for the search giant stated.

 

According to Bloomberg, Google is planning to employ Motorola Mobility’s legal arsenal of over  17 000 patents to protect companies that utilise its Android mobile operating system (OS) during licensing and legal battles with rivals the likes of Apple and Microsoft. The company has already done so earlier this year when it backed Taiwanese smartphone and tablet maker HTC in its lawsuit against Apple.