Motorola to purchase Symbol Technologies for $3.9 billion

NEW YORK — Motorola Inc. on Tuesday said it had agreed to buy Symbol Technologies Inc., a maker of bar code and inventory scanning technology, for about $3.9 billion in cash to expand its opportunities with corporate customers.

Motorola, the world's second biggest handset maker, said it would pay $15 per share, a slight premium over Symbol's Monday closing price of $14.67 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Motorola said it had expected the deal to close in late 2006 or early 2007 and to add to earnings in the first year following closing.

Symbol makes barcode scanners such as those found in supermarkets, as well as radio-frequency identification tags that store product information in tiny microchips that can be scanned to keep close track of inventory.

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