Chinese regulators finally approve Google takeover of Motorola

Google’s proposed takeover of Motorola Mobility has cleared a major hurdle after gaining regulatory approval from competition regulators in China.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the approval represents the last major regulatory hurdle to the $US12.5 billion deal.

However, a key condition on the approval is that Google continues to maintain free and open access to the Android smartphone platform for the next five years, preventing Google from granting exclusive access to the platform to its new subsidiary.

The acquisition, first announced in August last year, gives Google access to Motorola’s extensive patent portfolio and potentially allows the smartphone maker a “fallback” option should key smartphone partners such as Samsung abandon Google’s version of Android.

The news represents the last major hurdle to the takeover after US and EU regulators granted approval for the deal in February.