Motorola has announced that its planned separation into two companies will occur Jan. 4, despite hopes of completing the transition by year's end. The company will separate its consumer side, which makes products such as the successful Droid and Droid 2 smartphones, from a side that sells enterprise equipment.
Greg Brown will be the co-CEO of Motorola and CEO of Motorola Solutions, and Sanjay Jha -- Motorola's current CEO -- will be a Motorola co-CEO and CEO of Motorola Mobility. The split, the two said in a Nov. 30 statement, "is expected to benefit Motorola, its stockholders, as well as each company's respective customers and employees."
Motorola first announced the plan in February. David Dorman, chairman of Motorola's board of directors, said in a statement at the time, "We believe this structure provides significant operational and strategic flexibility for both companies, positions them for future success and enhances long-term shareholder value." According the Associated Press, the split also comes following pressure from investor Carl Icahn, who as of August owned more than 10 percent of the company.
"The strategy of Motorola Inc. and the decision we've made was all driven for all the right reasons," Gene Delaney, executive vice president of Product & Business Operations for Motorola Solutions, told eWEEK. "It was not driven by any specific person. It was a holistic strategy focused on how best can we serve our customers. It's all about focus, and now we can have a laser focus on our customers on both ends of the business."
For more, read the eWeek article: Motorola Splitting Off its Enterprise Business Officially on Jan. 4.
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