Motorola is set to acquire a state-of-the-art research and development center, associated development and test equipment, and a team of product development engineers in Aalborg, Denmark. Motorola will acquire contracts with approximately 250 employees, the majority of whom are engineers. The Aalborg facility and team will be integrated into Motorola's Mobile Devices business and become a product development center for Motorola.

The transaction is expected to close early in June. The terms were not disclosed.

The Aalborg facility features state-of-the-art measurement facilities, including antenna chambers, acoustical chambers, radio frequency chambers, environmental laboratories and measuring facilities related to mechanical development.

“This acquisition will enhance Motorola's capabilities in mobile phone development, software application development and antenna technology,” said Ron Garriques, president of Motorola Mobile Devices, in a statement.

The sale of the Danish R&D site fits in with a restructuring strategy at BenQ Mobile that includes a decision to centralize German development activities at the sites in Munich and Kamp- Lintfort/Northrhine-Westphalia and to relocate its R&D employees from Ulm to Munich.

“By offloading complexity in R&D, we will be able to more quickly develop new handsets and to launch products earlier in the competitive handset market,” said Clemens Joos, chief executive officer of BenQ Mobile, in the same statement. Besides Munich and Kamp-Lintfort in Germany and Wroclav in Poland, BenQ-Siemens handsets are also developed at sites in China, Taiwan and Brazil. “With the sale of the R&D-Site in Aalborg, Denmark, we found an ideal solution for the employees and make a further important step to be in the black by the end of the year,” said Joos.