The billionaire American corporate raider Carl Icahn has tightened the screws on mobile phone maker Motorola through a high profile publicity campaign comparing the firm's chief executive to Alice in Wonderland.
Mr Icahn is fighting to win a seat on Motorola's board at a shareholders' meeting on Monday, despite opposition from incumbent directors. He maintains the firm needs a shake-up and accuses its management of failing to keep up with rivals such as Nokia, Samsung and Apple.
In a full-page advertisement in yesterday's Wall Street Journal, Mr Icahn cited a reported remark by Motorola's chief executive Ed Zander, who is accused of shouting at an office meeting: "I love my job. I hate my customers."
"It sounds like something straight out of Alice in Wonderland," says Mr Icahn's letter to shareholders.
Mr Icahn, who owns $1.2bn of Motorola shares, continues: "Motorola has stumbled, and stumbled badly. Over the past six months, on this board's watch, almost $20bn of market value, of stockholder value, of your money, has disappeared. Motorola has suffered a critical failure in oversight and leadership that must be addressed."
Motorola's shares, which edged up to $17.46 yesterday, are trading close to a two-year low and have slumped by a third since October. The company admitted in January that a 48% drop in fourth quarter profits was "unacceptable".
Critics say the Illinois-based company has failed to come up with innovative successors to its razor-thin phone, the RAZR. Phone companies are bracing themselves for a new competitor as Apple prepares to enter the market with its iPhone.
Motorola maintains it can get back on track through a cost-cutting plan which reduces its workforce by 5%. It questions how much attention Mr Icahn could offer as a director considering he sits on eight other boards. Two independent proxy advisory firms have urged shareholders to support Mr Icahn, while a third has recommended rejecting his proposals.
