Icahn’s Moto bid gets endorsement from ISS

Institutional Shareholder Services has endorsed billionaire investor Carl Icahn’s campaign to gain a seat on Motorola Inc.’s board of directors, according to Icahn.
The move would appear to boost Icahn’s ambition to shift management and operational strategies at the ailing handset giant, while dealing a blow to Motorola’s official line, which is that Icahn is over-committed to other companies and knows little about the mobile handset business.
“Motorola has significantly underperformed its peers over recent quarters, and by most accounts is expected to struggle the remainder of the year,” ISS said, quoted in a press release by Icahn. “Icahn has a positive track record for creating shareholder value across a diverse universe of industries.” Motorola’s struggles and Icahn’s record “establish both the need for change and the dissident’s ability to effect change,” ISS said.
Motorola’s shareholder meeting is set for Monday, May 7, when 2 of its 13 board seats will be determined by a shareholder vote.
ISS’ Web site did not contain a press release on its Icahn endorsement. The site refers to ISS as “the world’s leading provider of proxy voting and corporate governance solutions to the institutional marketplace.” Its mission is to “provide corporate governance solutions that enhance the interaction between shareholders and companies, designed to help shareholders manage risk and drive value.”
“We strongly disagree with the conclusion reached by ISS,” Motorola said in a press release this morning. “Carl Icahn offers no plan to deliver value to all Motorola stockholders or to improve the performance of our Mobile Device Business. He is unfamiliar with our industry, technologies and markets.”
Motorola also said that Glass Lewis & Co., an independent proxy advisory firm, had recommended that stockholders vote for the election of Motorola’s nominees.