Arris cleared by DOJ to acquire Motorola's set-top box business

Arris Group has received clearance from the U.S. Department of Justice for its proposed acquisition of the Motorola Home business.

The broadband device vendor said it now expects to close the transaction on or about Wednesday, as all "required regulatory approvals have been received, or the applicable waiting periods have expired."

Google said in December it plans to sell the TV set-top box business of its Motorola Mobility subsidiary, which it acquired last year, to Arris for US$2.35 billion in cash and stock.

The Internet giant acquired Motorola Mobility more for its mobile phones business and its patents, and prepared to sell off the set-top box business.

As part of the deal, Google will receive about $300 million of newly issued shares in Arris, giving it about 15.7 percent ownership in the company. Arris will also get licenses to some of Motorola's mobile patents to drive the interaction of mobile phones with set-top boxes. Google also limited Arris' potential financial liability in a patent infringement lawsuit it is fighting with TiVo.

John Ribeiro covers outsourcing and general technology breaking news from India for The IDG News Service. Follow John on Twitter at @Johnribeiro. John's e-mail address is john_ribeiro@idg.com