KEY HURDLES CLEARED: Antitrust regulators in the U.S. and Europe have approved Google’s $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc.
WHAT’S LEFT: Google Inc. is still awaiting regulatory approvals in China, Taiwan and Israel. China looms as the biggest stumbling block left, given Google’s testy relationship with the ruling party in that country. Tensions have been running high since Google moved its Internet search engine out of the mainland two years ago in a dispute over the government’s censorship laws.
WHAT’S AHEAD: If the deal goes through, Google will be making devices for the first time.