Investor Carl Icahn has boosted market confidence in Motorola’s planned split by upping his stake in the vendor to 10%.

 

Icahn added another 10.2 million shares to his current Motorola holdings this week, taking his total shares in the firm to 232.2 million – or 9.99% of outstanding shares, according to an SEC filing.

 

It is the second time this year that Icahn has upped his stake in the US vendor, and is viewed as a good omen for a separation of the handset division from Motorola’s infrastructure business planned for 2011, WSJ.com reported.

 

Investors believe Icahn’s interest shows he is confident the value of the stock will rise after the split, WSJ said.

 

Separately, Icahn announced senior partner Keith Meister has resigned from Icahn Enterprises after eight years.

 

Meister will quit as vice chairman and principal executive officer to pursue other opportunities, the firm said.