Motorola is considering restructuring its mobile business

In an extraordinary public admission Thursday afternoon, Motorola CEO Greg Brown issued a statement saying his company is indeed considering ways to restructure its mobile devices and services business.

Brown's statement this afternoon reads as follows: "All of our businesses have exceptional people, products and intellectual property and the ability to achieve category leadership in their markets. We are exploring ways in which our Mobile Devices Business can accelerate its recovery and retain and attract talent while enabling our shareholders to realize the value of this great franchise."

The company added that it is considering "alternatives" including "separating" its Mobile Devices business from its other businesses. The wording implies that the option of selling off Mobile Devices, as suggested yesterday by financial analyst Richard Windsor, is on the table, but also that a partial buy-in by a prospective partner -- similar to the Sony Ericsson deal -- has not been ruled out.

Yesterday, BetaNews' Tim Conneally provided extensive analysis of the potential benefits Motorola could gain by selling off its Mobile Devices unit, with contributions from NPD director of industry analysis Ross Rubin.