GOOGLE TO PAY $1.1 BILLION IN CASH TO ACQUIRE HTC'S PIXEL SMARTPHONE DIVISION

In its latest push into hardware manufacturing, the giant search engine, Google would pay $1.1 billion in cash to acquire the division at Taiwan’s HTC Corp that develops the U.S. firm’s Pixel smartphones.

“For Google, this agreement further reinforces its commitment to smartphones and overall investment in its emerging hardware business,” Google said in a statement.

Under the deal, Google will also receive a non-exclusive license for HTC’s intellectual property. The Taiwanese firm will continue to run its remaining smartphone business.

HTC is a long-time partner of Google and some analysts estimate that Pixel smartphones account for 20 percent of HTC’s smartphone shipments.