Arris Cleared for Moto Home Deal

After two months of consideration, the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) has cleared the proposed $2.35 billion acquisition of Motorola Home by Arris Group Inc. (See Google Sells Moto Home to Arris for $2.35B.) Google announced the proposed sale of the unit in December 2012 but the DoJ announced in February it wanted a closer look. (See Motorola & Arris: Product Gaps & Overlaps, Arris CEO: Cable Operators Urged Moto Home Buy and DoJ Wants a Closer Look at Arris-Moto Deal.) Now, with all required regulatory approvals in the bag, the deal is set to close on April 17 or thereabouts, after which Arris will have a much closer relationship with one of its key cable customers. (See Comcast to Plow $150M Into Arris.) The acquisition will make Arris a major player in the set-top box market -- about 30 percent of its revenues will come from STBs after completion -- and also make Arris a much stronger rival to Cisco Systems Inc. in the CMTS (cable modem termination system) market. — Ray Le Maistre, Editor-in-Chief, Light Reading