Motorola Inc plans to split into two companies next year amid pressure from billionaire investor Carl Icahn to break off the money-losing mobile-phone business, exiting a market it created 25 years ago.  One company will focus on handsets and the other will sell network equipment, cable TV set-top boxes and two-way radios — businesses that are profitable and growing faster.
The board is looking for a new leader for the phone business, Motorola said in a statement on Wednesday.
Motorola sales slid for four straight quarters as consumers snapped up phones from Apple Inc and Nokia Oyj, prompting Mr Icahn to demand that the company offload the division. Motorola lost market share to all of its major rivals last year after failing to come up with a successor to its Razr, which created the category of slim phones when it was introduced in 2004.
The Razr, which initially sold for $500, has since lost its cachet.