Motorola’s Netopia acquisition gains antitrust approval

Motorola Inc.’s plan to drop $200 million on broadband home equipment provider Netopia Inc. has been cleared by United States antitrust authorities.
Based in Emeryville, Calif., Netopia makes wired and Wi-Fi modems, routers and gateways. The company sells to individuals, businesses and carriers, and has deals with BellSouth Corp., Covad Communications Group, EarthLink Inc., Hong Kong Telecom/PCCW, SBC Communications Inc., Swisscom, Verizon Communications Inc. and others.
The Netopia purchase directly involves Motorola’s Connected Home division, which is integral to Motorola’s vision of “seamless mobility.” Motorola has engaged in a buying spree of sorts lately, with recent acquisitions of wireless e-mail vendor Good Technology Inc. and bar-code scanner maker Symbol Technologies Inc.