Motorola Left Holding Troubled Handset Unit

With no buyer in sight for wireless equipment division, company may look to self-reform
By Laila Weir,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 25, 2008 12:07 PM CST
Motorola Left Holding Troubled Handset Unit
An undated photo provided by Motorola Inc. shows new chief executive Greg Brown. Brown replaced Ed Zander Jan. 1, 2008, and will try to end a slump without a Razr-like hit that his predecessor had when he arrived at the Schaumburg, Ill.-based company four years ago. (AP Photo/Motorola Inc.)   (Associated Press)

It’s looking increasingly important for Motorola to shore up its troubled handset unit itself, as no buyers have materialized in the near-month since the company said it was exploring options for the business, reports BusinessWeek. Fixing the problematic division would make it easier to attract a higher sale price, spin it off as a more valuable asset, or even retain the unit.

Motorola’s CEO has shown interest in reforming the handset group, having taken operational control of it himself and purged executives. He has his work cut out for him, however, with the unit losing money in the last quarter, and its share of cellphone shipments dropping from 22% in 2006 to 13.8% last year. (More Motorola stories.)

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