Motorola Solutions exploring sale of company, reports say
What is in this article?
Motorola Solutions exploring sale of company, reports say
Other sources indicated exploring a sale simply is a matter of the Motorola Solutions fulfilling its fiduciary responsibility.
“I think a board of directors in a situation like they are in—in a fast-changing world—has to always look at optimizing shareholder value,” one industry source said on a condition of anonymity. “If there is reason to believe that the way optimize shareholder value is to get swallowed up by a larger enterprise, that’s the number-one job of the board of directors for Motorola: to optimize shareholder value.”
Given the uncertainty surrounding Motorola Solutions’ role in a broadband-oriented market, other industry sources said that this might be the best time to capitalize on the company’s strong position as a provider of mission-critical LMR solutions.
All sources interviewed for this article agreed that Motorola Solutions has considerable value for many potential buyers. In addition to its profitable mission-critical-communications business that promises to be an industry leader for years to come, the company has a vast network of dealers and has exhibited a remarkable ability to forge strong relationships with government officials at the state and local levels—a difficult task, considering the massive scope of diparate government agencies and the high level of turnover in many of those positions, sources noted.
“They know everybody,” one industry source said on the condition of anonymity. “When I began working for a local government, I had a fire chief tell me once, ‘I’ve known these [Motorola] guys, and they have provided me with equipment that has saved lives—and saved my guys’ lives—time and time again for the past 15 years, before you got here. Even though we are part of the same government, I trust their word over yours.’
“No matter what happens to the company, I hope the relationships that they have with state and locals can be turned into something positive in the future.”
News reports mentioned private-equity firms and large integrators Raytheon, Honeywell and General Dynamics as potential suitors for Motorola Solutions. Industry sources interviewed by IWCE’s Urgent Communications mentioned integrators Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, IP manufacturing behemoth Cisco Systems and global LTE network-equipment manufacturers Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent as other possibilities.