Google wins approval for Motorola deal

Google Inc won approval from Chinese regulators for its $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc, clearing a final hurdle for a deal that boosts its patents portfolio and steps up competition with Apple Inc.

"We are pleased the deal has received approval in all jurisdictions," Motorola Mobility said in an e-mailed statement, confirming that the transaction has been approved in China. "We expect to close imminently."

The deal helps Larry Page, the Google co-founder who took over as chief executive officer last year, push the Web company to better compete with Apple's iPhone and gain more clout for its Android software as it expands in the hardware business. It also gives Google, the worlds' biggest maker of smartphone software, a trove of 17,000 patents to protect Android devices in legal disputes with competitors.