Pace confirms Home talks

Shares in the TV set-top box maker Pace were suspended yesterday as it confirmed it is in talks to buy Google's Motorola Home business, which could lead to a reverse takeover.

Pace, which has a stock market value of almost £600m, has submitted a bid, but there is thought to be at least one other rival, United States-based Arris Group.

Motorola Home, which designs, manufactures and instals set-top boxes, could be worth up to £1bn. Under City rules, Pace would end up "reversing" into the business because of their relative sizes.

Google bought Motorola for $12.5bn (£7.8bn) last year.

Pace shares fell 3.4 per cent to 185.3p, before their suspension.