By Richard Defendorf
Thursday, March 13 2008 08:15 AM
URL: http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/communications/0,39044192,62038882,00.htm

Though they initially seemed cool to the idea, telecommunications gear makers in Asia are indeed interested in discussing a partnership with Motorola's handset division, according to a mergermarket.com report cited on Wednesday by Reuters.

The Motorola handset unit's steady loss of market share in 2007 has generated plenty of anxiety among shareholders and plenty of fallout, including intervention by activist investor Carl Icahn; the resignation of former CEO Ed Zander and Stu Reed, the phone division's former president; and, over the past couple months, on-again/off-again declarations that Motorola is considering a spin-off of its handset business.

The report by mergermarket.com, the mergers-and-acquisitions intelligence specialist owned by Financial Times Group, cites a banker among its sources and describes the interested parties as "leading Asian telecommunications equipment and device makers".

The Reuters story goes on to point out that an executive with China-based phone maker ZTE told the news service at the GSMA Mobile World Congress in February that his company was "keeping in touch with Motorola on a wider cooperation".

This article was first published as a blog on CNET News.com.