Almost a year to the day of his first bid to exert influence over the troubled cell-phone and telecommunications gear maker Motorola Inc.,
Carl Icahn is again preparing to bring in some new directors to the
company's board to assist the company in exploring strategic
alternatives such as a separation of its cell-phone division from the
rest of the company.
Icahn, who last year was defeated in his bid to win a seat on the
Motorola board, this year has others in mind for the job. In a filing
with the Securities and Exchange Commission, he said he is nominating
Frank Biondi, the former CEO of Viacom Inc.; William Hambrecht,
the co-founder of the former investment bank Hambrecht & Quist;
Lionel Kimerling, professor of engineering at Massachusetts Institute
of Technology; and Keith Meister, CEO of Icahn Enterprises.
Schaumburg, Ill.-based Motorola issued a statement late Friday, Feb.
1, that activist investor Icahn has informed it of his intent to
nominate four directors to stand for election at the 2008 annual
meeting. Icahn said he and various entities affiliated with him own
about 5% of Motorola's shares.
And unlike a year ago, Motorola does not seem to be resisting Icahn's overtures.
In a brief statement, Motorola said only that it had not yet
scheduled its 2008 annual meeting, and was reviewing Icahn's notice.
One year ago, Motorola was showing the first signs of trouble in its
cell-phone division, but was confident that it would be able to reverse
soft profit margins and lost market share.
Yet, the company's troubles have only worsened since then. Last
month, Motorola stunned investors when it announced that would report a
first-quarter loss, due to a slower-than-expected rebound in its
cell-phone business.
On Thursday, Motorola said it was reviewing different options, including spinning out the cell-phone division.
