Motorola is acquiring industrial mobile-device specialist Symbol in a cash deal worth almost $4bn.

Symbol launched in 1975 and thanks to its low-cost handheld scanners, rode the introduction of barcodes. It subsequently invested heavily in making the scanners wireless, with recent growth coming from RFID readers and infrastructure. A natural fit for Motorola, then, with the latter's existing customer base in transportation and the public sector.

Symbol also has a patent portfolio of over 900 grants, which Motorola CEO Ed 'Zndr' Zander said was a factor in the acquisition.

Moto will pay $15 per share, a 33 cent premium over Monday's trading price, and expects the deal to close late this year or early in the New Year.

Last year, Symbol turned over $1.7bn in revenue and instituted a cost-cutting program. Its most recent quarter saw it return to the black, with net income of $27.2m on revenue of $435m. ®

Related stories

• Symbol readies slimmer corporate PDA phone? (17 November 2006)

  https://www.theregister.com/2006/11/17/symbol_preps_mc35_pda/

• ASA backs Razr-wielding designers (20 September 2006)

  https://www.theregister.com/2006/09/20/motorola_razr_advert/

• Freescale sells itself for $17.6bn cash – or more (15 September 2006)

  https://www.theregister.com/2006/09/15/freescale_accepts_takeover_offer/

• Motorola gains ground on Nokia (28 August 2006)

  https://www.theregister.com/2006/08/28/moto_gains_market_share/

• US gets RFID passports (15 August 2006)

  https://www.theregister.com/2006/08/15/us_gets_rfid_passports/

• Near field communications gets nearer (15 August 2006)

  https://www.theregister.com/2006/08/15/nfc_standard_progresses/

• Moto makes billion buck profit (20 July 2006)

  https://www.theregister.com/2006/07/20/motorola_q2_2006/

• 'RFID tag' - the rude words ID card ministers won't say (30 January 2006)

  https://www.theregister.com/2006/01/30/burnham_rfid_evasions/