Google may now be ready to buy HTC

Rumors of HTC selling its smartphone division have been common over the last few months, but the latest news suggests we may be very near to an official confirmation of what will happen to the Taiwanese phone maker.

HTC has issued a trading halt from Thursday September 21 ready for the release of information about the company. Tim Culpan, who writes for Bloomberg, reported the news and claimed it would be a "major announcement".

After rumors earlier this month suggested Google was nearing an acquisition of HTC we are tempted to believe this is what we'll hear about tomorrow.

See more

What would it mean?

The exact details of a deal are unclear, and it may even be that HTC has found another buyer that isn't Google.

It would make sense for Google to buy HTC though. It's now almost certain the manufacturer of the smaller Pixel 2 that we expect to see launch on October 4, plus it may  be an easier way to bring the manufacturing process into Google's own business.

For more details on why Google would want to buy HTC we explored the topic earlier this month and you can read our full feature here

We don't know exactly when we'll hear the details from HTC, but fingers crossed it'll be at some point tomorrow as the company would like to resume trading as soon as possible after it's common knowledge.

James Peckham

James is Managing Editor for Android Police. Previously, he was Senior Phones Editor for TechRadar, and he has covered smartphones and the mobile space for the best part of a decade bringing you news on all the big announcements from top manufacturers making mobile phones and other portable gadgets. James is often testing out and reviewing the latest and greatest mobile phones, smartwatches, tablets, virtual reality headsets, fitness trackers and more. He once fell over.