Google today missed out on acquiring bankrupt Nortel’s patent portfolio that was up for grabs. Microsoft, Apple, RIM, EMC Corp., Ericsson and Sony edged out Google and bid $4.5BILLION to win the assets. Yes, that is a billion with with a B. In exchange for $4.5B, the consortium gets 6000 patents and patent applications covering mobile communications, 4G and 3G networks, data and voice networks, and others in optics and semiconductors.Google had started with an opening bid of $900 million and was outbid by the consortium. It is not yet clear how much each participant of the consortium has pooled towards the $4.5B. It is also not known how how the portfolio is to be managed between the six.
What would be interesting to note is how Google conducts future patent litigation with respect to Android – it is involved in 40 plus litigations. Microsoft on the other hand has recently concluded four licensing deals with Android device makers-perhaps many more are likely to follow after the acquisition of the portfolio.
Considering the company’s bidding strategy on the Nortel patents, one has to wonder whether Google was ever very serious about its bid. If so, hopefully it learned its lesson: next time, instead of Pi, go with Feigenbaum’s constant ($4,669,201,609).
Google was serious but was outplayed by the consortium. The bidding was akin to a very high stakes game of poker. See http://techcrunch.com/2011/07/09/vesper/