CHICAGO (AP)--Motorola said Wednesday that billionaire investor Carl Icahn, already a leading shareholder in the cellphone manufacturer, has notified the company that he may buy more shares.
The announcement comes a month after Icahn made known he wants a seat on Motorola's board of directors, reportedly to increase the company's $4.4 billion debt level and return more cash to investors.
The Schaumburg, Ill.-based company's shares, which jumped 6% on the Jan. 30 announcement, rose 5% to $19.50 in after-hours trading Wednesday. The activist Icahn has earned a reputation for pushing aggressively for corporate changes to boost slumping stock prices.
Icahn and his entities already own 33.5 million shares of Motorola, or about 1.4% of the company's outstanding shares. Motorola said it had received confirmation of his required filing notification that he may acquire millions more.
According to the handset maker, Carl Icahn and Icahn Partners LP are each filing to acquire $120 million to $500 million of Motorola stock. Two related entities - Icahn Partners Master Fund LP and Icahn Partners Master Fund II LP - filed to acquire in excess of $500 million but less than 25% of outstanding shares.
Motorola spokesman Paul Alfieri declined to make additional comment.
The world's No. 2 handset maker ran afoul of investors and industry analysts in the fourth quarter with its least profitable quarter since 2004, acknowledging it had missed forecasts and made errors in pricing its products. The company now finds itself on the defensive after an unprecedented two-year hot streak because of the trendy Razr phone's worldwide popularity.
Its shares fell 9% last year and are down 10% so far in 2007.
Separately, Motorola said in its annual report filed Wednesday that the Securities and Exchange Commission terminated its investigation into the Turkish wireless company Telsim on Feb. 5 and told the company it did not recommend any enforcement action. It did not elaborate.
Motorola has been embroiled in a legal battle in the Telsim case for years, saying the carrier defaulted in 2001 on a payment of about $2 billion in loans owed to Motorola and its subsidiaries.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires"
Posted to the site on 1st March 2007
Posted to: www.cellular-news.com/story/22307.php