Icahn loses bid to gain seat on Moto’s board: Billionaire investor plans to keep 2.9% stake in handset maker

Motorola Inc. said that dissident, billionaire investor Carl Icahn did not win a seat on the company’s board of directors. The handset maker said that, based on an estimate of the votes cast at the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting in Chicago last night, it believes stockholders re-elected the company’s current board members.
The news appears to bring to an end to the war of words between Icahn and Moto’s Ed Zander, a battle that became more and more heated at the shareholder vote approached.
As for Icahn, the 71-year-old said he plans to retain his 2.9% stake in the Schaumburg, Ill.-based handset maker, but that he hasn’t ruled out another board bid next year.
“I think we gave them a wake-up call,” Icahn said, according to the Associated Press.
“On behalf of Motorola’s Board of Directors and management, we thank all of our stockholders for their continued support and confidence,” said Zander. “During the past few months, we have met with and listened to a large number of our stockholders, including Mr. Icahn, and we value their insights and perspective regarding Motorola. We are focused on executing our plan to improve the performance of our Mobile Devices business and building upon the strength of our strong Networks and Enterprise and Connected Home Solutions businesses. We remain steadfast in our commitment to continue building value for all of our stockholders.”
Motorola’s stock was down slightly after the news to around $17.77 per share.