Motorola acquires Symbol for $3.9 billion

Motorola is the latest company to loosen its purse strings by shelling out $3.9 billion for barcode whiz Symbol Technologies.

As yet it is unclear just how much impact this acquisition will have on market dynamics, particularly on Symbol's competitors like arch rival Psion.

The mobile phone giant today announced the move, which should cement its market leadership by bolstering its enterprise mobility capabilities in addition to opening up a wider pool of partners and customers, particularly in vertical sectors.

The company hopes to close the deal by early next year, after which Symbol will become a core part of Motorola's Networks and Enterprise business.

"Motorola and Symbol share the same vision of a digital, mobile world for enterprises that matches the world people enjoy at home and at play," said Motorola chairman and chief executive, Ed Zander.

"Everything is going digital, and everything digital is going mobile - this is especially evident in the way businesses are run today."

Marco Landi, senior director for Symbol EMEA described the merger as a 'natural fit' for both companies.

He said: "Combining Symbol's developments in rugged mobile devices with Motorola's innovative enterprise mobile technology will create an enhanced range of devices for the ever growing number of businesses with a workforce that needs to be on the move.