Motorola Inc. has put the auction of its biggest business unit on hold as the company reconsiders its latest breakup plan, said people familiar with the situation.

The move comes amid lower-than-expected bids for the company's home and networks mobility division, which had 2008 sales of $10.1 billion. Motorola had hoped the division would fetch a price of $4 billion to $5 billion, said people briefed on the auction.
Sales trends were also a factor in the move. The unit makes set-top boxes for cable TV, as well as mobile-phone networking gear. Amid an uptick in mobile-phone handsets sales, Motorola is examining whether its handset and networking businesses should stay under a single parent, one of the people said.
Two of the people said the next round of bids was expected to be due in mid-February. But that schedule has been thrown into limbo, they said, with Motorola's board and management set to meet in coming days to discuss the future of all its business lines and to be updated on the auction.
While most of its rivals are looking to bulk up, Motorola has been trying to break itself into two or three pieces to help combat a companywide sales slump.
(Source: Wall Street Journal)