Lenovo seems to be on a buying binge, and not even Google can escape. In its second deal in a week, the Chinese company, once best known for making personal computers, announced that it was buying Google’s Motorola Mobility smartphone unit for $2.91 billion. Last week, Lenovo acquired IBM’s low-end server business for $2.3 billion.
Though not a total financial loss for Google, the sale of the unit less than two years after Google paid $12.5 billion for it is a sign of fits and starts at the company in the mobile age, Claire Cain Miller and David Gelles report in DealBook.
Since 2005, Lenovo has overtaken Hewlett-Packard and Dell to become the world’s biggest maker of PCs. But now, Lenovo appears to be building a comprehensive business in simple computers, perhaps shying away from the PC market as more people buy smartphones and tablets instead. “While phones use different kinds of chips than PCs or servers, many parts and much of the contract manufacturing is done by the same companies. With more products, Lenovo can squeeze its suppliers harder,†Ms. Miller and Mr. Gelles write.
But don’t the numbers indicate that Google lost nearly $10 billion on the Motorola Mobility sale? Not quite, Michael J. de la Merced writes in DealBook. Considering factors like the original deal’s effective price, Google’s sale in 2012 of Motorola’s set-top box business and Motorola’s patents, Google may not be doing so bad.
WALL STREET’S LATEST HOUSING BET  | Mention bonds tied to housing debt, and many investors will squirm, remembering the disastrous mortgage-backed securities that led to the financial crisis. But Wall Street’s latest trillion-dollar idea, which involves slicing and dicing debt tied to single-family homes, is instead attracting investors in droves, Michael Corkery reports in DealBook. The bonds are backed by foreclosed homes, which have been turned into rentals.
Mr. Corkery writes: “While this securitization market is still in its infancy, a recent Wall Street estimate put potential financing opportunities for the single-family rental industry as high as $1.5 trillion. Already some members of Congress and economists are worried about another credit bubble.†Bankers are estimating that single family-rental bond deals could total as much as $7 billion this year and grow to about $20 billion a year.
SOTHEBY’S TO PAY DIVIDEND AND BUY BACK SHARES  | Under pressure from activist hedge funds like Daniel S. Loeb’s Third Point and Mick McGuire’s Marcato Capital Management, the auction house Sotheby’s announced on Wednesday that it would return $450 million to shareholders through a dividend and share buyback, Alexandra Stevenson and Michael J. de la Merced write in DealBook.
But Mr. Loeb and Mr. McGuire, who together hold more than 15 percent of Sotheby’s shares, were not completely satisfied after the announcement, and Mr. McGuire urged shareholders to continue demanding more from Sotheby’s management.
While Sotheby’s plan addresses some aspects of the critique from activist investors, questions remain about the auction house’s governance and broader strategy, Richard Beales writes for Reuters Breakingviews.
ON THE AGENDA Â |Â Fourth-quarter G.D.P. figures are released at 8:30 a.m. Weekly jobless claims are out at 8:30 a.m. The pending home sales index is out at 10 a.m. Time Warner Cable, Viacom and Visa release earnings before the bell. Amazon and Google release earnings after the market closes. Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, is on Bloomberg TV at 10 a.m. Robert D. Marcus, chairman and chief executive of Time Warner Cable, is on Bloomberg TV at 11:45 a.m.
SAC LEADER’S COLLEAGUE UNAWARE OF TRADES  | Chandler Bocklage, one of Steven A. Cohen’s closest associates at SAC Capital Advisors, was kept in the dark about the firm’s trades that are at the focal point of the insider trading trial against Mathew Martoma, a former SAC portfolio manager. In his testimony at the trial on Wednesday, Mr. Bocklage said he learned about the trade of shares in two drug companies, which later reported disappointing results of a clinical trial for an Alzheimer’s drug, only after the fact, Matthew Goldstein writes in DealBook.
Federal prosecutors have charged Mr. Martoma with using inside information about the clinical trial to help Mr. Cohen’s firm avoid losses and generate profits totaling $276 million in shares of Elan and Wyeth.
On Tuesday, another witness, SAC’s head of trading execution, testified that Mr. Cohen instructed him to sell shares of Elan from accounts that did not have “as many eyes†watching them only a day after Mr. Martoma called Mr. Cohen at his home in Greenwich, Conn.
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THE POLAR EFFECT  | The arctic chill that has been battering the East Coast and the South is driving up prices of natural gas and heating oil, The Wall Street Journal reports. Points for the clever headline: “Icy Chill Sets Energy Prices on Fire.â€
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Dassault Systèmes to Buy San Diego Software Firm  | Dassault Systèmes of France, which makes 3-D modeling software, is to buy Accelrys for about $750 million, expanding its offerings in the chemistry, biology and materials sectors. DealBook »
Fiat Makes Changes as It Absorbs Chrysler  | The Italian car company Fiat, which took full control of Chrysler, unveiled its plans to rename the combined entity and have its primary listing on the New York Stock Exchange. DealBook »
AT&T Still Interested in Vodafone  | Despite denying its pursuit of Vodafone earlier this week and giving up the option to bid for the European telecommunications giant for six months, AT&T is still said to be interested in acquiring the company, Bloomberg News reports, citing unidentified people familiar with the situation. BLOOMBERG NEWS
Wireless Mergers Will Draw Scrutiny, Antitrust Chief Says  | William J. Baer, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s antitrust division, said consumers have enjoyed “much more favorable competitive conditions†since the division blocked a proposed merger between AT&T and T-Mobile in 2011. DealBook »
Santander’s Profit Doubles but Misses Expectations  | The Spanish lender benefited from lower charges for bad loans as its profit hit rose to 1.06 billion euros in the fourth quarter, but earnings declined in Spain and Latin America. DealBook »
Senator Asks Veterans Agency to Review How Financial Advisers Are Accredited  | A lax accreditation process is effectively giving “unscrupulous or unqualified individuals†an opportunity to waste taxpayer money and harm veterans, Senator Claire McCaskill said. DealBook »
Foundations Band Together to Get Rid of Fossil-Fuel Investments  | Taking cues from old fights to end apartheid and oppose tobacco, several foundations are addressing the warming of the planet. DealBook »
Citigroup to Move Headquarters  | Citigroup announced on Wednesday that it was planning to leave its headquarters at 399 Park Avenue in Manhattan when its lease expires in 2017, Bloomberg News reports. It is not yet known where the bank will move. BLOOMBERG NEWS
Strong Fourth-Quarter Earnings Expected for Private Equity  | Publicly listed private equity firms like the Blackstone Group and Apollo Global Management are expected to report strong fourth-quarter earnings resulting from favorable market conditions and dividend payments from portfolio companies, The Wall Street Journal writes. WALL STREET JOURNAL
TPG Capital Raising $2 Billion Bridge Fund  | The private equity firm TPG Capital announced on Wednesday that was raising a $2 billion bridge fund until it raises a $10 billion flagship fund, Reuters reports. REUTERS
Candidate Emerges for Blackstone’s Next No. 2 Executive  | Jonathan Gray, who leads the Blackstone Group’s $69 billion property business, may be the next choice to become the firm’s No. 2 executive, The Wall Street Journal writes, citing unidentified people familiar with the situation. WALL STREET JOURNAL
Firm Raising Fund to Invest in Film and TV Royalties  | Vine Alternative Investments is raising $300 million for a fund that will invest in television and film royalties, Fortune reports. The firm has invested in more than 400 films to date. FORTUNE
Zopa Receives Investment From Arrowgrass Capital  | Zopa of Britain, a peer-to-peer loan platform, has secured a 15 million pound investment from the hedge fund Arrowgrass Capital Partners, The Financial Times reports. FINANCIAL TIMES
OneWest Bank Seeks a Buyer as It Prepares an I.P.O. Â |Â OneWest Bank, known as IndyMac Bancorp before its failure in 2008 and now backed by John A. Paulson and George Soros, is looking for a buyer as it prepares for its initial public offering, Bloomberg Businessweek reports. BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK
No Plans Yet for I.P.O. of Santander’s British Unit  | Javier Marin, the chief executive of the Spanish bank Santander, said there were no plans to take the bank’s British unit public in 2014, Reuters reports. REUTERS
Mexican Airline Sets I.P.O. Target  | The Mexican budget airline VivaAerobus is looking to sell shares at a minimum of $1.57 in its initial public offering set for Feb. 11, Reuters reports. The company plans to sell up to 113 million shares. REUTERS
Cloud Security Company Raises $16.5 Million  | CloudLock, a cloud security company, announced on Wednesday it had raised $16.5 million in Series C funding, bringing its total to more than $28 million, ReCode reports. The funding was led by Bessemer Venture Partners, which has shown an appetite for investing in cloud software companies. RECODE
Fed Cuts Monthly Bond Purchases  | In a unanimous decision, the Federal Reserve said it would pull back on its stimulus program by an additional $10 billion, pointing to an improving economy that had “picked up in recent quarters,†The New York Times reports. NEW YORK TIMES
Obama Orders Creation of ‘MyRA’ Accounts  | Making good on a State of the Union address promise, President Obama on Wednesday ordered the creation of new employer-sponsored savings accounts, which are intended for people who do not now have employer-sponsored savings plans. They will operate much like Roth I.R.A.’s, according to Treasury officials, The New York Times writes. NEW YORK TIMES
Judge Approves Lehman Settlement  | Judge James M. Peck, who will retire at the end of this week, approved a settlement between Lehman Brothers Holdings and Fannie Mae over $18.9 billion in mortgage claims, The Wall Street Journal reports. WALL STREET JOURNAL
