While the recent Facebook purchase of Instagram might have gotten the big press, I think this deal will be the most consequential of the quarter. Google has just finalized a $12.5 billion deal to purchase Motorola Mobility Holdings, INC. The purchase is Google’s largest purchase to date, and has been in the works for some time. (Go figure, China regulators were the only thing holding it up!)

Why It’s Significant

This purchase is significant for a few reasons. First, Google knows mobile search marketing trends, because just like traditional search, they dominate. Small businesses know that mobile is vital now and will be even more in the future (an estimated $5 Billion industry by 2015). Purchasing Motorola Mobility gives Google the keys to the factory floor of one of the leading smartphone manufacturers in the world.

Second, Motorola Mobility holds over 17,000 cellphone patents. “So what?” you say. Apple wants to sue Google for allegedly copying the iPhone. One of Steve Jobs’s final missions was to wage “thermonuclear war” on Google for this. I’ll let you read his other choice words, as well. (Warning: It’s not pretty.) Access to Motorola Mobility’s patents will help shield Google from these suits, which is already worth well over the sticker price for the acquisition. It’s kind of like wearing a baseball helmet even if you haven’t taken a fastball to the head; you know you could and the consequences warrant protection.

Just as Important

This buy may not get the buzz of Instagram, but it is certainly one to pique the attention of digital marketers. Sure, Motorola Mobility isn’t making a profit right now, and it might not give Google an additional revenue stream, but any sports fan knows that defense wins championships. I think Google made a great move here.

Check out what these media outlets have to say the deal:

• It’s Official: Google Is Now A Hardware Company
• Google completes purchase of Motorola Mobility
• Google’s Motorola Mobility Acquisition Closes

→ Ryan Russell, Strategist, Social Media + PR, AREA203 Digital …@ryanwprussell