Motorola Mobility offered $100mn tax incentive to stay on in Illinois

Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc, the US-based technology firm, yesterday agreed to retain its corporate headquarters in Illinois following a more than $100 million tax incentive package offered by the state.

Motorola Mobility, the newly split entity that makes wireless phones and tablet computers headed by Dr Sanjay Jha had been mulling for some months of moving its corporate headquarters to more high-profile tech states like Texas or California.

The announcement came yesterday during a signing ceremony with governor Pat Quinn at the company's Libertyville headquarters, where the wireless leader announced the decision to keep its corporate headquarters in Illinois.

Jha had been considering moving the company headquarters out of Illinois after Motorola Inc was split into two companies in January this year with Greg Brown heading Schaumburg-based Motorola Solutions Inc.

The state of Illinois is keen to ensure that a large, and globally respected tech company like Motorola Mobility stayed in the state, where it employs around 3,000 local people and has been in constant touch with it for months.

Motorola executives said that the company will spend more than $500 million in research and development over the next three years, which will lead to job creation in Libertyville, Illinois in the future.

The state has offered Motorola Mobility a tax incentive package of more than $100 million over the next 10 years.

The package includes Economic Development for a Growing Economy tax credits, which is likely to be around $10 million annually over the next 10 years. The package also includes job training assistance funds as well as $3 million to offset capital expenses.