Motorola to split into two entities

LOS ANGELES: Struggling technology company Motorola says it plans to split in two early next year.

One half will focus on its consumer-focused cellphone and television set-top box products, the other on holding divisions targeting business clients.

Shareholders will get a share in each new company, each roughly the same size in terms of annual revenue at US$11 billion ($15.7 billion). Both halves will be publicly traded.

Motorola's two co-chief executives, Sanjay Jha and Greg Brown, will get separate companies to run. Jha will focus on Motorola's entertainment and consumer-oriented devices, including smart phones such as the Droid, and Brown on high-tech business solutions.

"We believe this configuration is cleaner and more compelling for customers and investors," Brown said yesterday.

The move is a change from plans the company announced in late 2008 to spin off only its handset unit by the third quarter of 2009. It put that plan on hold as the recession deepened.

- AP