Motorola to split off mobile business

Separate Moto phone biz will see "product-led recovery"

News
Comments (0)

26 March 2008 16:07 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

Subscribe to RSS feeds
Create PDF of this article
Share this article
Save this article
Email this article
Print this article
Phones homepage

Motorola has announced it is to split off its troubled handset business into a separate company creating two different businesses by 2009.

Seen to be caving to the demands investor Carl Icahn, the creation of an independent mobile devices company would leave a Motorola that makes TV set-top boxes, wireless equipment, public-safety radios and bar-code scanners.

Motorola's chief exec Greg Brown said the split "will provide improved flexibility, more tailored capital structures, and increased management focus - as well as more targeted investment opportunities for our shareholders".

"Clearly there's a lot more work to be done", Brown said. "It will be a product-led recovery. We're taking steps now to ensure and solidify that direction."

Motorola shares rose 1.7%, or 17 cents, to $9.93 on the news.