DELHI: Motorola has failed to find a buyer after seeking to drum up interest from private-equity funds and large industrial companies, people with knowledge of the matter said.
The maker of two-way radios and other communications equipment has proved too large a target for any single buyout fund, one of the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. Motorola fell 6.2 percent to $62.51 in New York trading Thursday, giving it a market value of about $13.2 billion.
Motorola also approached strategic buyers including Honeywell International Inc. and Tyco International Plc, without gaining any traction, another person said. Some companies were concerned that Motorola’s technology may become obsolete too quickly to justify a large purchase price, this person said.
Motorola has struggled recently, with per-share profit excluding some items tumbling 45 percent last year, and sales this year projected to be unchanged to slightly lower.
The company may be able to find interest from wireless carriers that want to deepen relationships with emergency-service providers who need reliable and constant access to communications networks, said Keith Housum, an analyst at North coast Research in Cleveland.
