Motorola to Acquire BenQ’s Research and Development Centers and Product Development Team

Motorola and BenQ announced that the companies have signed an agreement, under which Motorola will acquire from BenQ, a state-of-the-art research and development center, associated development and test equipment, and a team of product development engineers in Aalborg, Denmark.

The Aalborg facility and team will be integrated into Motorola’s Mobile Devices business and become a product development center for Motorola. These resources will enhance Motorola’s effort to deliver breakthrough products and experiences that integrate the best internal and partner technologies. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The closing is expected to take place in early June.

Located in the “Danish Silicon Valley,” the Aalborg facility features state-of-the-art measurement facilities, including antenna chambers, acoustical chambers, radio frequency chambers, environmental laboratories and measuring facilities related to mechanical development. The main facility in Aalborg is currently owned by a Danish Pension Fund and leased to Siemens Real Estate who leases it to BenQ. Motorola expects to enter into a lease directly with Siemens at closing.

As part of the transaction, Motorola will acquire approximately 250 employees, the majority of whom are engineers.

Through the sale of the R&D-Site to Motorola BenQ Mobile continues its restructuring strategy. In March, BenQ Mobile announced its decision to centralize German development activities at the sites in Munich and Kamp-Lintfort/Northrhine-Westphalia and to relocate its R&D employees from Ulm to Munich until end of May. “One of our targets is to streamline operations and to simplify our fragmented product development assignments through the consolidation to major sites. By offloading complexity in R&D, we will be able to more quickly develop new handsets and to launch products earlier in the competitive handset market,” said Clemens Joos, CEO of BenQ Mobile. Besides Munich and Kamp-Lintfort in Germany and Wroclav in Poland, BenQ-Siemens handsets are also developed at Asian sites in China & Taiwan and in Brazil. “With the sale of the R&D-Site in Aalborg/Denmark, we found an ideal solution for the employees and make a further important step to be in the black by the end of the year,” underlined Clemens Joos.

This transaction does not include any business, products or other assets from BenQ, including any intellectual property, manufacturing or supply relationships, or sales and administrative capabilities. In addition, Motorola is not acquiring any of BenQ capital, liabilities or financial obligations.