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Motorola shells out $3.9bn for Symbol
Sign of the times...

By Reuters

Published: Tuesday 19 September 2006

Motorola on Tuesday said it has agreed to buy Symbol Technologies, a maker of bar code- and inventory-scanning technology, for about $3.9bn in cash to expand its opportunities with corporate customers.

Motorola, the world's second biggest handset maker, said it will pay $15 per share, a slight premium over Symbol's Monday closing price of $14.67 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Motorola said it expects the deal to close in late 2006 or early 2007 and to add to profits in the first year following closing.

Symbol makes bar code scanners, such as those found in supermarkets, as well as radio frequency identification, or RFID, tags that store product information in tiny microchips which can be scanned to keep close track of inventory.

Motorola chief executive Ed Zander said in a statement: "This transaction significantly advances Motorola's enterprise mobility strategy and is consistent with our focus on building on our already strong intellectual-property portfolio."

The company said the acquisition of Symbol will not affect the pace of Motorola's share repurchase activity.

Motorola shares closed on Monday at $24.95 after hitting a nearly six-year high of $25.55 earlier in the session.