Icahn puts $50M into Motricity

Mobile content company Motricity Inc. once again added to its bank account, raking in $50 million in equity funding from controversial investor Carl Icahn.
Motricity, which provides and delivers mobile content for carriers and media companies, named Icahn’s son Brett to its board of directors under terms of the deal. The elder Icahn made headlines last month when he asked for a seat on the board of Motorola Inc., causing shares of the handset maker to jump 6 percent and potentially setting the stage for a proxy battle.
Motricity, based in Durham, N.C., has continued to accrue cash even as it has struggled to streamline its business. Motricity closed a $60 million round of financing last fall, pushing its overall venture funding past the $150 million mark, but in December cut 50 jobs in a surprisingly drastic move to cut costs.
The company claims to have quadrupled its customer base in the past year, however, and in July acquired GoldPocket Wireless, which provides technology for mobile voting campaigns and other TV-based applications. Motricity’s customers include Cingular Wireless L.L.C., Sprint Nextel Corp., MTV, NBC and Warner Music Group.
“Motricity has an excellent management team and leading technology,” said Carl Icahn. “They are well positioned for dominance in mobile content, a sector for which we forecast strong growth in the coming years.”