Icahn raises stake in Motorola to 7.6 percent

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Billionaire investor Carl Icahn has raised his stake in Motorola Inc (MOT.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the world's third-largest maker of mobile phones, to 7.6 percent, according to a regulatory filing on Wednesday.

The activist investor settled a year-long proxy battle against Motorola in early April, when the company agreed to support two of four board nominees proposed by Icahn.

Motorola said at the time that it would seek input from Icahn regarding its decision to split off its money-losing cell phone business and its search for a new chief for the unit.

Icahn and affiliates purchased 172.2 million Motorola shares for an aggregate price of $2.36 billion, including commissions, said the filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

In a filing dated March 26, Icahn and affiliates had reported a 6.4 percent stake in the company.

Motorola shares rose 1.5 percent to $10.41 in pre-market trading from their Tuesday New York Stock Exchange close of $10.26,

(Reporting by Tiffany Wu in New York and Bhaswati Mukhopadhyay in Bangalore; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)