Motorola Likely To Sell Its Set-Top Box Division

Jonathan Lovelock | Nov 14, 2009 | Comments

motorola_logo If the latest industry buzz is to be believed, US based Mobile giant Motorola is looking for a buyer for its network equipment and TV set top setups. According to the information obtained from a reliable Wall Street Journal, the company is expecting a price of $4.5 billion for the deal. The potential buyers may include competing equipment manufacturers and private equity players. However, Motorola representatives declined to affirm or deny the news, citing company policy.

As of now, Motorola operates in three major divisions: enterprise mobility, network and home mobility and mainstream mobile devices. The US mobile maker, once the second largest player in the mobile handset industry, has been going through a bad patch for the last few years. Sanjay Jha, its Co-CEO has been trying for some time to devise new strategies and revamp its aging handset line to bounce back in the business.

Its MotoRazr lineup of phones proved to be extremely popular but the company simply failed to produce a worthy successor to this series. The rise of the iPhone and stiff competition from RIM’s BlackBerry pushed Motorola to the wall.

However, Its new lineup of Android based phones have turned its fortune to an extent. Motorola has aggressive plans to reclaim its position in the industry and the sell off may be a step in that direction. Its recently launched Cliq and Droid has got a lot of positive reactions and the sales are promising. Despite the changes, Motorola will require some more time to stop making losses. This year it lost $183 million in the mobile handset division. It drew profits from the networking-gear and set-top box segment. This section is still lucrative for buyers and that is why the company is considering selling it off.