Motorola Inc. (NYSE:MOT) is likely to face more pressure from billionaire activist Carl Icahn to breakup the company after the announcement that chief executive Ed Zander would be replaced by Greg Brown. Icahn told the Wall Street Journal today that a breakup of Motorola would likely improve the company's long-suffering finances. Shareholders aren't so sure though, with shares declining over a point on the news.

Icahn's focus is on the spin off of Motorola's handset operations - the company's largest division with $39 billion in sales. The billionaire insists that this division is not contributing to Motorola's stock price and undervalued by the market. Moreover, the company's mobile phone market share has been sliding in recent years, which has dragged down Motorola's stock price along with it. The company tried to remedy the situation by selling off several major operations in recent years while making acquisitions, but it hasn't helped.

"The point is that if the handset business was spun off, with over $20 billion in revenue in a growing industry, it is obviously worth a great deal," said Icahn. However, Motorola has resisted such a move for some time and said it remains committed to its current strategy to improve its business and grow it over the long-term. Icahn is betting that a new CEO, however, may be more open to his ideas to unlock shareholder value.

In the end, Icahn is Motorola's third largest shareholder controlling 3.3% of the company's stock. Unfortunately, this is not large enough to force any change but the activist investor is very well known and has a lot of influence. Whether or not he will succeed in his current coup with management remains to be seen, but this stock is definitely one worth watching in the meantime!

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