Carl Icahn on Turnarounds

Beginning in 2007 Icahn accumulated Motorola shares and pushed hard for the company to separate its declining handset business from its infrastructure and public-safety operations, arguing the conglomerate structure hid the value of the parts and dulled accountability. After years of pressure, including board representation he eventually won, Motorola split in 2011 into Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions.

Icahn's argument followed his standard template: no division of a conglomerate can be properly valued or managed when its results are averaged with unrelated businesses, and a company losing share in its core product market must restructure before decline becomes permanent. The eventual split, with Google buying the mobility arm months later, was claimed by his camp as vindication of the thesis.