China: Google’s Acquiring Motorola? Nobody Told Us.

Looks like Google forgot to loop the Chinese government in on its planned acquisition of Motorola Mobility. During a Wednesday media briefing Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman Shen Danyang said Google had not yet requested a regulatory review of the deal, which is required before it can move forward in the country. “The ministry has so far not received any application for an anti-monopoly review,” Shen said.

Odd. You’d think this would be a detail that Google would nail down early given its antagonistic relationship with China. That said, the acquisition was only announced last week. Presumably, a filing will come in time.

Reached for comment, Google had little to say beyond a reiteration of the traditional no-comment comment. “As we said in our press release announcing the deal, the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory approvals in the U.S., the European Union and other jurisdictions, and the approval of Motorola Mobility’s stockholders,” a Google spokesperson told AllThingsD.