Pace approaches Google over Motorola Home

TV decoder maker Pace has made an indicative proposal to Google for the acquisition of its Motorola Home business and suspended its ordinary shares.

In a statement issued by Pace, the company said that discussions with Google were at a preliminary stage and there was no certainty as to whether any agreement regarding any transaction would be reached.

The company further confirmed that the potential acquisition of Google's Motorola Home business would be classified as a "reverse takeover" under the UK Listing Rules given its size relative to Pace.

As a result, the ordinary shares of Pace were suspended from trading as of Monday afternoon. Pace stated that the shares would recommence trading either on sufficient information of any potential transaction being provided publicly to shareholders or on the release of an announcement confirming that Pace is no longer in discussions with Google regarding the potential acquisition of the Motorola Home business.

Pace confirmed that it continued to deliver on its strategic plan as outlined in November 2011. In its third quarter trading update released on November 14th, the company outlined that it was expecting final year 2012 revenues to be flat on final year 2011 with 2% underlying growth before the impact of HDD [High Definition displays] supply disruption) with increased operating margins of greater than 7%.

Pace's share price was down 3.39% to 185p before suspension on Monday.

MF