The Hindu Business Line : Videocon eyeing Motorola’s handset biz

New Delhi, April 1 World’s third largest mobile handset brand Motorola could soon have an Indian owner. Consumer durables major Videocon has sent an expression of interest to Motorola for buying out the US-based company’s troubled handset business.

“We have expressed our interest in acquiring Motorola’s handset business. Owning a global handset business is in complete synergy with our existing telecom and retail plans. With a huge growth in the cellular segment we have always wanted to foray into the mobile handset space,” Mr Venugopal Dhoot, Chairman, Videocon Group, told Business Line.

The move comes after Motorola had decided, on March 26, that it will hive off the troubled mobile device business into a separate company. One of the key investors in Motorola, Mr Carl Icahn, wants the company to sell the business. The phone maker has lost a third of its market share last year as its once-popular Razr phone faded and as rival products garnered more buzz and sales.

In India too Motorola has not been performing well in the handset segment despite having some of the cheapest products in the market. Motorola has a handset manufacturing facility in Chennai where the company makes both CDMA and GSM mobile phones.

When contacted, Motorola spokesperson said that the company did not comment on speculation and rumours. Sources said that it was unlikely that Motorola will sell its business to Videocon as it did not have a global brand value when compared to that of Motorola.