By Wailin Wong
| Activist investor Carl Icahn has raised his stake in Schaumburg-based
Motorola Inc. to 8.75 percent, according to a Friday filing with the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Icahn and his investment vehicles last disclosed their Motorola holdings
in May 2008, reporting a 7.6 percent stake.
Although Icahn was once one of Motorola’s most vocal critics, waging proxy battles and issuing sharp rebukes against the company’s management, he has been quiet since a 2008 agreement put two of his candidates on the board. Icahn had also pressed for a break-up of the company, a plan that is now in progress and slated for the first quarter of 2011. Last week, Motorola reported first-quarter earnings that exceeded analysts’ expectations.
Motorola’s shares, which closed Friday down 8 cents at $6.60, are 34 percent lower than when Icahn last disclosed his stake in May 2008. However, the stock is up more than 60 percent since the beginning of 2009.
