Lenovo braced for CFIUS scrutiny over Motorola handset deal

As the largest Chinese technology deal in the US, Lenovo’s $2.9 billion purchase of Motorola’s handset business will be closely scrutinized by a US government committee that reviews transactions for national security concerns.

As part of the purchase from Google, Lenovo will assume 2,000 patents and receive a license to other Google smartphone intellectual property, which will be combed through by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). However, most of the valuable and sensitive patents are being kept by Google, while Motorola’s business that has government contracts is part of another company, people familiar with the matter said. The deal also involves hardware, not software, and Chinese-made handsets, like those manufactured by Huawei, are already sold in the US. As a result, Lenovo’s acquisition may not face major challenges though it may have to meet certain conditions requested by CFIUS to get approval, people familiar with the matter said.