Google and HTC have announced a $1.1 billion cooperation agreement between the two companies, which will send a large part of HTC’s smartphone engineering team to Google, in addition to granting the internet giant a license to use HTC’s patent portfolio. In return, HTC will get $1.1 billion in cash.
The agreement comes after repeated rumors that Google was leading attempts to buy HTC’s smartphone division. This announcement essentially means HTC is selling the Pixel smartphone division to Google, giving it complete control over the manufacture of its Pixel smartphones. In return, HTC gets money to reinvest in its own smartphone, VR, and components divisions.