Google Signs $1.1bn HTC Smartphone Deal

Google signs $1.1bn HTC smartphone deal

Alphabet's Google has struck a $1.1bn (£822m) deal with Taiwan's HTC to expand its smartphone business. Google will not take a stake in the firm, but some HTC staff will join the Silicon Valley giant. The Taiwanese company was once a major player in the smartphone market but has struggled to compete with the likes of Apple and Samsung.

Google expects the deal to close by early 2018, provided it gets the all clear from regulators. Shares in HTC were suspended in Taiwan on Thursday. The deal marks the latest move by Google to boost its hardware capabilities.

"It's still early days for Google's hardware business," the firm's senior vice-president of hardware Rick Osterloh said in a blog post on Google's website.Under the deal, Google will acquire a team of people who develop Pixel smartphones for the US company and receive a non-exclusive license for HTC's intellectual property.