Motorola Breaks Up in Two Independent Companies

Motorola, the American mobile industry giant, just announced via a press release that it will split up to form two independent companies in order to achieve a better management of its business(es).

The news comes in a quite difficult period for Motorola, as the company was surpassed by Samsung in terms of mobile phones shipped worldwide and is now the world's number three handset manufacturer, after being on the second position, behind Nokia, for many years.

The new companies resulting from Motorola's separation will concentrate on Mobile Devices (the first one) and Broadband and Mobility Solutions (the second one). The Mobile Devices independent company will produce and distribute handsets, accessories and mobile software, while the Broadband & Mobility Solutions company will continue Motorola's business in networking, voice services and data communication solutions.

"Our decision to separate our Mobile Devices and Broadband & Mobility Solutions businesses follows a review process undertaken by our management team and Board of Directors, together with independent advisors," declared Greg Brown, the president and CEO of Motorola. "Creating two industry-leading companies will provide improved flexibility, more tailored capital structures, and increased management focus - as well as more targeted investment opportunities for our shareholders."

Also talking about the recent departure of Stu Reed, the ex-president of Motorola's Mobile Devices division, Mr. Greg Brown added: "We have undertaken a global search for a new chief executive officer for the Mobile Devices business. We believe strongly in our brand, our people and our intellectual property, and expect that the Mobile Devices business will be well-positioned to regain market leadership as a focused, independent company."

Although the Motorola split is subject to further analysis from both the company's Board of Directors and the US authorities, Moto hopes the separation will be completed in 2009. As for normal mobile users, they probably hope that, after the handset division of Motorola becomes an independent company, more cool phones will hit the market to offer a wider range of choices.

I guess we should all be glad about the whole thing and patiently wait to see the good changes.