Motorola said its board of directors has approved the separation of Motorola Mobility Holdings from Motorola, Inc. through a tax-free dividend involving the distribution of all Motorola Mobility common stock held by Motorola to Motorola stockholders.
The board has also approved a reverse stock split of shares of Motorola common stock following the distribution.
The distribution will be made prior to the market open on 4 January 2011 to Motorola stockholders of record as of the close of business on 21 December 2010.
Motorola stockholders of record will receive one share of Motorola Mobility common stock for every eight shares of Motorola common stock they hold, the company said.
Motorola will effect a 1-for-7 reverse stock split of Motorola common stock, which will become effective prior to the market open on 4 January 2011, following the distribution of Motorola Mobility common stock to Motorola stockholders.
However, fractional shares of Motorola Mobility common stock will not be distributed to Motorola stockholders, instead, the fractional shares of Motorola Mobility common stock will be aggregated and sold in the open market.
Motorola Solutions CEO Greg Brown and Motorola Mobility CEO Sanjay Jha said that this announcement marks another important milestone toward the upcoming separation that is expected to benefit Motorola, its stockholders, as well as each company’s respective customers and employees.
Motorola, Inc. will change its name to Motorola Solutions on 4 January 2011 and will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol MSI, and Motorola Mobility Holdings will begin trading on the NYSE under the ticker symbol MMI.
