Means to an end
US communications device maker Motorola, which was the world's biggest mobile phone maker in the late 1990s, but has been losing market share ever since, has finally announced its intention to split into two separate companies, almost two years after it first publicly mooted the idea.
As originally planned, the two new companies will focus on Motorola's consumer and B2B offerings, respectively. The consumer arm will not just make mobile phones, but also domestic connected devices like set-top boxes. It hopes to aggregate these offerings in some way, using terms like "end-to-end solutions" in summary.
The consumer spin-off will be headed-up by current co-CEO Sanjay Jha, who only joined Motorola from wireless chip maker Qualcomm - where he was COO and head of the mobile chip division - in August 2008. He will be looking to develop Motorola's strategy of focusing on the Android smartphone sector, although Qualcomm's Snapdragon chip hasn't made an appearance yet.
"The combination of Mobile Devices and our Home business brings together two highly complementary and innovative organizations," said Jha. "Together we will be best positioned to lead in the convergence of mobility, media, and the Internet. Our expanding portfolio of smartphones and end-to-end video content delivery capabilities will enable us to provide advanced mobile media solutions and multi-screen experiences for our customers."
A bonus for the consumer division is that the B2B division is going to take-on all Motorola's public debt at the time of separation. That time is still expected to be a year or so away, however. Both companies will continue to use the Motorola brand, which was created in 1930.
