EC delays Google Motorola decision

THE EUROPEAN COMPETITION COMMISSION wants more time to consider the Google and Motorola merger.

The European regulators only started looking at the buyout in earnest recently, but now they want more time to consider it, according to a very brief note on its website.

The European Commission (EC) had set itself a deadline for a decision, but now that date has been removed and replaced with "Deadline suspended under Article 11(3) from 06.12.2011".

The EC had given itself 25 days to consider the deal, and announced that in late November. It has either realised that it needs more time to do its Christmas shopping or thinks that the deal, which is not without opponents, needs more careful consideration.

The purchase is likely to be more about patents and intellectual property than anything else, and Google has steadfastly insisted that it needs its own patent armory to compete against other, more aggressive, patent buyers.

This delay means that the deal, if it is approved, will get the green light some time in 2012. µ