Icahn wants seat on Motorola’s board

January 30th, 2007 · Source · No Comments

Famous investor Carl Icahn is a large shareholder in Motorola and spoke with CNBC this afternoon, noting that he is running for a seat on the board. Icahn owns approximately 1.4% of Motorola’s outstanding shares and was outspoken about the $12 billion in cash Moto is keeping around for a rainy day.

“If they want to be money managers, they can go to Wall Street,” Icahn said in a telephone conversation with [CNBC’s David ] Faber. “Why sit on $12 billion, earning 3%?”

Icahn believes Motorola should buy back nearly 1/3 of its outstanding shares to boost the price. He is also hoping for a board seat though no date has been set for the shareholders meeting. All 13 directors are elected annually. Shares of Motorola [MOT] spiked nearly 7% after news of Icahn’s board seat wish hit the wires.