Motorola to dump billions into its Mobility spinoff

Sounds like you know from experience.

Which is still around an working today, what a catastrophe that was huh.

And you base the assumption that Motorola has better judgement than ANYONE ELSE based on…what exactly? Four years ago, the world was their oyster. They were the 2nd largest cellphone maker in the world. Then they dicked around for 2 years, buying a half dozen corporate jets at $20M a pop (most companies Moto’s size had one, or leased/rented as they go). Apple ate their lunch on the high end, Samsung and LG started owning what Nokia left of the low end.

Don’t get me wrong, I like the company. I drive by their HQ every day, right on Meacham Rd. I owned a RAZR, KRZR and a Q9. However, I’m also an investor, and my research and instincts, and flat out common sense tell me these people haven’t learned a damn thing about pissing away money.

In fact, I pose the question to ANYONE out there, what possible good reason is there to split this company up, (other than to shut up Carl Icahn)? Splitting up duplicates administrative overhead, and research, in addition to the money it costs to legally separate the two entities. It’s also a distraction for people that should be planning their next move in the marketplace.

But I’m willing to entertain the idea that there’s a plausible reason. Someone PLEASE share.

Because obviously, the company is too large and diverse to manage as a whole. It’s easier to manage a company when they are downsized and specialized. Now, their mobile division can have a management team that specializes in telecommunications instead of the diverse multitude of of engineering disciplines that encompasses the company that is “Motorola”. The larger the company, the more waste because the harder it is to manage. The more specialized each sector of Motorola it is, the easier to understand and manage it is and the less waste their is.

United Technologies, General Electric, any of the 3 big defense contractors (LM, BA,NG), Nokia, Samsung, LG, 3M, Berkshire Hathaway, Illinois Tool Works, Textron and a couple hundred other companies all are larger and vastly more diverse than Motorola is today, and aside from a few, are generally doing better than most companies these days.

Fact is, this dumb idea all boils down to Icahn. It was his idea, and his alone, to split Moto up. The people that you say know all the facts opposed it to the point of Icahn suing Motorola’s board. This is more a move to pacify him than anything. Making major decisions based on the fatalism of one minority shareholder is not sound management.

There is no proof that a split company would be managed any better than shaking up current management, but is vastly more complex and risky. It’s basically a giant unfounded gamble.

But whatever, I keep my money far, far away from MOT.