NEW YORK – Motorola Inc. is acquiring Symbol Technologies Inc., a leader in bar code scanners and RFID wireless technology, reports The Wall Street Journal.

According to the newspaper, Motorola “gains a company well established in mobile-data computing” and RFID wireless technology that includes Symbol’s handheld scanners – products that “are unassuming but nearly ubiquitous parts of retail stores, loading docks and factory floors.”

“This is a company we’ve been looking at for some time,” Motorola Chairman and Chief Executive Ed Zander told the newspaper, adding, “We really had our hearts set on adding lots of critical mass and critical size inside the enterprise area and today we do that.”

The newspaper notes the deal is Motorola’s largest since its $17 billion acquisition of General Instrument Corp. in 2000. Motorola will use Symbol’s Holtsville, New York headquarters as its core of operations that address corporate business communications needs. Symbol’s Chief Executive Sal Iannuzzi, who was named CEO earlier this year, will head the business and report to Motorola’s Greg Brown, president of its networks and enterprise unit.