Mobile phone maker Motorola, Inc. formally split into two independent and separately traded public companies that began trading on the NYSE as Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc. (MMI), and Motorola Solutions, Inc. (MSI) on Tuesday.
Motorola Mobility was spun-off from Motorola, Inc. as an independent company through the pro rata distribution of a tax-free stock dividend of shares in the new company to Motorola, Inc. shareholders.
The dividend distribution was made today prior to market opening to Motorola, Inc. stockholders of record as of the close of business on December 21, 2010. Motorola, Inc. stockholders of record received 1 share of Motorola Mobility common stock for every 8 shares of Motorola, Inc. common stock they held.
Following the distribution of Motorola Mobility common stock, the company made a 1-for-7 reverse stock split of Motorola, Inc. common stock prior to the market opening. Motorola, Inc. also changed its name to Motorola Solutions, Inc. after the stock split and begin trading on the NYSE under the ticker symbol MSI.
"We are pleased that Motorola Mobility has reached this important milestone. After more than two years of planning, today we begin operating as a financially strong, independent company trading on the New York Stock Exchange," Motorola Mobility Chairman and CEO Sanjay Jha said in a statement.
Motorola Mobility will provide a complete portfolio of mobile converged devices, digital entertainment devices in the home, and end-to-end video, voice and data solutions through two industry-leading global technology businesses. The mobile devices business will provide smartphone devices and mobile handsets, while the home business will provide digital set-top boxes and end-to-end video solutions.
"We are well-positioned to build on the strong momentum we have in smartphones and end-to-end video solutions -and to take advantage of opportunities resulting from the convergence of media, mobility, computing and the Internet," Jha added.
Meanwhile, Motorola Solutions will deliver innovative business- and mission-critical communications solutions for commercial enterprises and government customers throughout the world. Motorola Solutions provides public safety solutions, mobile computing technology, advanced data capture, integrated command and control communications, WLAN solutions and advanced services.
Motorola Mobility Chairman and CEO Sanjay Jha and his management team rang the Opening Bell at the NYSE today, while Motorola Solutions President and CEO Greg Brown and his management team will ring The Closing Bell in honor of their first day of trading.
Motorola was founded as Galvin Manufacturing Corp. in 1928 and went public in 1943 and assumed its current name. The company had witnessed a number if spin-offs, including the present one. In 1974, the company sold its television and radio businesses to Matsushita.
In 1999, Motorola spun-off the ON Semiconductor Corp. (ONNN), after a hefty loss as the Iridium company, Motorola's global communication network filed for bankruptcy. Motorola manufactured two satellite phone handsets for this network - the 9500 and 9505 as well as transceiver units.
In 2001, the company spun-off its government and defense business unit, Integrated Information Systems Group., to General Dynamics Corp. (GD). In 2003, Motorola spun-off its semiconductor products division into a separate company called Freescale Semiconductor Inc. (FSL).
In 2006, Motorola closed the sale of its automotive business to Continental AG (CON), which had annual revenue of $1.6 billion and had 4,500 head counts, and in 2009, it closed the sale of its Biometrics business the French defense company, Safran.
Most recently, Nokia Siemens in July 2010 agreed to acquire the majority of Motorola's public carrier wireless network infrastructure for $1.2 billion in cash, with a view to strengthen its worldwide presence, particularly in the U.S. and Japan.
In Tuesday's regular trading session, MSI is currently trading at $37.50, up $0.02 or 0.05% on a volume of 0.78 million shares, and MMI is currently trading at $32.89, up $2.65 or 8.76% on a volume of 2.20 million shares.
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