S&P says sell Google’s shares after Motorola deal

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NEW YORK (AP) — Standard & Poor’s is saying investors should

sell Google’s stock because it believes the search leader’s

decision to buy Motorola Mobility increases the risk to the company

and its shares.

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Google Inc. said Monday it will pay $12.5 billion for Motorola

Mobility, a major maker of phones using Google’s Android mobile

software. The deal includes mobile patents that could help Google

defend itself against rivals.

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S&P said Tuesday that while the acquisition would include a

patent trove, that might not be enough to keep Google’s Android

mobile operating software from encountering intellectual-property

issues. It downgraded its rating on Google’s shares to “Sell” from

“Buy.”

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Further, the ratings service says the transaction will hurt

Google’s growth, margins and balance sheet.

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S&P cut its price target for Google’s stock by $200 to

$500.

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Google shares fell along with the overall market Tuesday, slipping

$18.23, or 3.3 percent, to finish trading at $539.

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