Thursday, 26 April 2007

Icahn Wins Backing for Seat on Motorola Board

Billionaire financier Carl Icahn wanted to raise his stake in American telecom giant Motorola and enter the board. He won the support of Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and managed to bag a seat on Motorola's board of directors.

The reason Icahn, wanted to become a board member is to pressure Motorola executives to improve profit margins.

"It's more likely than not Icahn will act as a positive influence on the board by providing a fresh perspective," ISS said.

Motorola seems to be undergoing the dark ages, as the company is not faring too well post the launch of its blockbuster phone MotoRazr.

In the wake of falling profits the company’s chief financial officer is leaving. The company hired a chief operating officer, Greg Brown.

Icahn has raised his stake in Motorola to 2.7 per cent, from 2.48 per cent as of his previous filing on March 12. Icahn has been demanding board seats at other companies as well— WCI Communities and Temple-Inland for instance.