Google close to buying smartphone maker HTC's assets - Bloomberg

(Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's Google is close to acquiring assets of Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC Corp, Bloomberg reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. The Taiwan stock exchange said on Wednesday that HTC shares will be halted from Sept. 21 on a pending news announcement. (http://bit.ly/2fjiJIL) (https://bloom.bg/2wxDCam) Bloomberg reported last month that the smartphone maker was said to be exploring options that could range from spinning off its virtual reality business to selling itself. [nL4N1LA53Z] Both HTC and Google declined to comment. (Reporting by Munsif Vengattil; Editing by Anil D'Silva)