Motorola May Drop Offer for Next Level

Motorola Inc. said it might let its offer expire to pay $1.04 a share for the 26% of Next Level Communication Inc. it doesn’t already own.

The company is prepared to let the tender offer lapse because of a lack of progress, said Don McLellan, Motorola’s vice president of mergers and acquisitions. The offer will expire today at 3 p.m.

Three weeks ago, networking equipment maker Next Level lost a legal appeal to halt the bid, claiming that Motorola tried to coerce investors into selling too cheaply.

Shares of Schaumburg, Ill.-based Motorola rose 1 cent to $8.26 on the NYSE. Next Level fell 12 cents to 97 cents on Nasdaq.