Motorola might not sell off its mobile phone and networking business unit after all, according to a report Thursday in The Wall Street Journal.
Unnamed sources have told the Journal that the business unit, which includes handsets and cable TV set-top boxes, hasn't elicited high enough bids from potential buyers. Motorola is looking for an offer in the range of $4 billion to $5 billion, but has so far received bids between $3 billion and $4 billion, the Journal reports.
The company is also reconsidering whether phones and set-top boxes need be kept together under the same roof, or sold off separately.
Motorola has been looking to split the company for a couple years. It first hatched the plan in early 2008after several quarters of losses for its handset business. Even worse financial circumstances forced the company to delay the split--expected to be finalized during late 2009--even longer.
There is another round of bids for the phone and set-top unit scheduled to be delivered in mid-February, the Journal's sources say, so an attractive offer could still keep Motorola's original plan on track.
Discuss: WSJ: Motorola rethinking spin-off
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