Motorola has finally given in to activist investor Carl Icahn and appointed two of his four nominees for Motorola's board of directors. Motorola had offered to appoint two out of the four nominees previously, but it said it would not appoint Keith Meister to the board since it wasn't familiar with him. The compromise sees Meister joining the board effective immediately. Meister is a managing director of Icahn investment funds. The other new board member is William R. Hambrecht, the founder and CEO of W. R. Hambrecht and Company. Icahn is the second biggest shareholder of Motorola with a 6.4 percent stake.
As part of the compromise, Icahn will not solicit proxies at the company's annual meeting and will dismiss litigation against the company.
For more on the Motorola vs. Icahn squabble:
- read this press release