Motorola to split company in two

SCHAUMBURG, Ill., March 26 (UPI) -- Illinois-based Motorola Inc. announced Wednesday it would divide the company, splitting into Mobile Devices and Broadband and Mobility Solutions.

The split would create two publicly-traded companies and provide "flexibility, more tailored capital structures and increased management focus," Chief Executive Greg Brown said in a statement.

The move comes after months of pressure from investor Carl Icahn, who owns 6 percent of Motorola and has positioned himself to nominate four candidates for Motorola's board at the annual meeting in May.

The Fortune 100 company, with sales of $36.6 billion in 2007, has been struggling in recent years. A recent cut of 2,500 jobs left the company with 65,000 employees, down from a peak of 150,000 in 2000.