How Frank Quattrone and Motorola milked Google for $12.5 billion

Motorola Mobility’s proxy for its acquisition by Google is out, including a fascinating step-by-step account of the deal process, starting with communication between Google Android boss Andy Rubin and Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha to discuss the Nortel patent auction.

Particularly interesting is the section on how Motorola, with the help of Frank Quattrone‘s Qatalyst Partners, got Google to raise its price from an initial range “in the high $20s or low $30s” — already a 25% premium — to $40 per share. (An extra $3 billion or so.)

Spencer Ante and Andrew Dowell summarize it nicely for the Wall Street Journal:

According to the filing, Google offered $30 a share on Aug. 1. Four days later, Motorola, advised by Qatalyst Partners, rejected the offer and suggested $43.50.

On Aug. 9, Google came back with an offer of $37 a share, according to the filing. Motorola asked for $40.50, and Google responded the same day with a new offer of $40 a share. On the morning of Aug. 15, after a few days of final negotiations,the two companies entered into a merger agreement at that price.

Quattrone, you may recall, was signed on to advise Google during Microsoft’s proposed takeover of Yahoo in 2008. This time, his firm got Google to pay up big.

Also: SplatF Employee of the Month: Sanjay Jha, CEO of Motorola Mobility