(Telecompaper) Google has completed its acquisition of HTC's staff and assets. The deal was announced in September, with a price tag of USD 1.1 billion. With the close, Google said it will now seek to expand its footprint in the Asia Pacific region, with Taiwan's Taipei set to become the largest Google engineering site in APAC. Rick Osterloh, Google's senior VP for Hardware, said HTC's team is the same that worked with Google to develop the Pixel and Pixel 2 smartphones. As Google's hardware business enters its third year, Osterloh said the company remains committed to building and investing for the long run.