Long before the iPhone, Motorola had a chance to change the mobile phone industry
“While no one knows the future, this $7.5 billion deal could have changed Motorola’s fortunes.”
Huawei is currently the world’s second-biggest smartphone manufacturer and also commands a big chunk of the competitive Chinese market in 2019. The company is among a few OEMs in the world that have their own in-house chip business as well as a huge network equipment segment. However, as with many growth stories, Huawei also had its humble beginnings. A new report from The Financial Times states that Huawei could have been a part of Motorola if a deal in 2003 would have taken place. The news of the failed deal never came out until today claims the source.
As the report states, both Huawei and Motorola were big players in the wireless network equipment industry in their respective countries. And that’s what Motorola was after when it was chasing China’s leading wireless equipment maker. Motorola’s then Chief Operating Officer, Mike Zafirovski, setup a meeting with Huawei’s founder Ren Zhengfei, the photo of whom was snapped on a beach. The deal was advanced as even a letter of intent was signed for Motorola to buy Huawei for a reported $7.5 billion at that time. However, as Zafirovski moved to the CEO position at Motorola, the deal did not happen as the price of the deal was considered too high for what was then a relatively unknown Chinese brand. “It isn’t clear whether Huawei could have saved Motorola or Motorola would ultimately have destroyed Huawei.” says a Chinese senior executive in Hong Kong who was aware of the situation.
After the deal was called off, Motorola, which was a well known global brand, delivered some hit products like the iconic RAZR and the DROID series which brought Android into the spotlight in 2009. Eventually, Motorola itself was acquired by Google for $12.5 billion in 2011 after huge losses and then to Lenovo. On the other hand, Huawei has continued its rise both in China and across the globe both as a smartphone maker and as a network equipment manufacturer. The company recently was in the limelight at after revealing its first 5G foldable phone – the Mate X – at the MWC 2019 in Barcelona.
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