Brian Rakowski, VP of Product Management at Google, speaks about the Pixel phone, during the presentation of new Google hardware in San Francisco, California, U.S.

A report from a Taiwanese news outlet called Commercial Times says Google is in the final stages of acquiring all or part of smartphone maker HTC.

The news follows a separate story from late August that suggested Taiwan-based HTC was interested in some sort of sale.

HTC, once one of the more popular smartphone makers in the United States, has fallen off of most carrier store shelves after several consecutive unsuccessful smartphone launches. It recently launched a separate division that sells virtual reality headsets.

The report seems fishy, since Google has already been down this road, but there's a reason why Google might be interested in HTC.

The Taiwanese company builds the Google Pixel, which means it could be a good fit for Google as it continues to cater to consumers with its "Pixel" smartphone brand.