Lenovo has completed the $2.9 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility from Google, a deal which the Chinese vendor claims pushes it into third spot in the smartphone vendor league table.

The deal was first announced in January 2014.

Motorola will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary and its headquarters will remain in Chicago.

“By building a strong number three and a credible challenger to the top two [Samsung and Apple] in smartphones, we will give the market something it has needed: choice, competition and a new spark of innovation,” said Yang Yuanqing, chairman and CEO of Lenovo.

Strategy Analytics agrees with Lenovo’s number three spot assumption. The analyst firm claims that Lenovo captured 5 per cent market share of global smartphone shipments in Q3 2014, while Motorola captured 3 per cent. The combined 8 per cent share puts it above the current number three player Xiaomi (5.6 per cent).

Liu Jun, Lenovo executive vice president and president of its Mobile Business Group, becomes chairman of the Motorola board. Rick Osterloh, a Motorola veteran, will remain president and chief operating officer of the division.