Carl Icahn, who last year forced Time Warner to ramp up returns to shareholders, is pushing for a seat on the board of the world's second largest mobile phone manufacturer, Motorola.
News that the US investor has amassed a stake of about 1.4% and will seek election to the board at its annual meeting this year sent shares in the company higher on Wall Street as analysts predicted he would push for a radical overhaul of the business.
Motorola announced plans to slash 3,500 jobs last week as fourth-quarter profits nearly halved despite a 23% increase in handset shipments as the company slashed prices. The results were well below analysts' expectations and even the president and chief executive, Ed Zander, admitted they were disappointing.
The company's flagship RAZR phone is also coming to the end of its life and there are fears that Apple's forthcoming iPhone will steal share in the top end of the market.
All 13 seats on the company's board will be up for re-election at the annual meeting, for which a date has not yet been set.
Last year Mr Icahn, who has a personal wealth estimated at over $10bn (£5bn), called on Time Warner to abandon its cable business and return more cash to investors. Although the chief executive, Dick Parsons, eventually saw him off, he was forced to increase greatly the firm's share-buyback programme.
