Taiwanese consumer electronics major HTC, which is credited with launching Google's first ever Android phone, may be acquired by the search engine giant soon.
Citing a company insider, local daily Commercial Times, has claimed that Google was in the final stages of talks of acquiring HTC. However, the California-based search engine major is more interested in buying just the company's mobile business and not the Vive VR (Virtual Reality) division or the PC manufacturing department.
Also read: Google Pixel 2 series tipped to come with IP6B water-resistant certification
The news of the acquisition comes amidst reports of HTC's fall in revenue. Earlier this week, the Taiwanese compnay posted a 13-year low in sales return. In the late 2000 and the early 2010s, HTC had a thriving smartphone business; it was one of the most popular brands in USA and in other developed markets.
But the last three years saw the company's mobile sales failing. Earlier this year, it launched a new U11 with innovative Edge Sense technology, a first in smartphone industry.
For the unanointed, HTC U11's 'Sense Edge' is a special ultra-sensitive frame. It makes the protruding physical buttons obsolete on the chassis. It can perform all the functions of physical buttons (power on/off and volume rockers) seen in current crop of smartphones.
Read more: Complete capabilities of HTC U11's Edge Sense technology
Besides the industry's first Edge Sense technology, HTC U11 also has the distinction of scoring the highest DxO Mobile camera ratings of 90 points, thereby displacing Google Pixel series (89), as the best camera-phone in the market.
Despite having the state-of-the-art technology, HTC U11 seems to have failed to win consumers. It has to be noted that HTC also assembled Google's first generation Pixel phones and even the upcoming 2017 series, as well.
But, HTC reported consolidated revenues of NT$3 billion (US$99.69 million) for August, the company's lowest monthly figures in 13 years, DigiTimes reported.
It also added that HTC's cumulative sales for the first eight months of 2017 totalled NT$39.86 billion, 14.4% less compared to the previous year.
If Google does acquire HTC's mobile business, it will be the second OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) for the search engine after the Motorola in 2012 and hopefully, the company keeps it this time.
Google made a blunder by buying Motorola for $12 billion and sold it off to Lenovo within two years for just $2.9 billion. [Note: Google still holds Motorola patents]
Now, that Google is selling its own proprietary Pixel series phones, it makes good business sense for the company to go for the HTC mobile division and get full control over its assembling plant.
So far, neither Google nor HTC have made any official comments on the aquisition rumours.
This is a developing story. Stay tuned. Follow us @IBTimesIN_Tech on Twitter for latest updates on Google and HTC.
