Activist investor Carl Icahn said he has spent $1.78 billion for a 5 percent stake in Motorola (NYSE: MOT) at a time when he is trying to get his four nominees elected to the board of the company. Reuters (NSDQ: RTRSY) reports that a regulatory filing revealed that Icahn’s affiliated funds hold 114.3 million shares in the handset manufacturer. On February 1, the billionaire nominated four executives for election to Motorola’s board at the company’s 2008 annual shareholder’s meeting, saying that he hoped the firm was going to accept his additions to the board rather than engage in another “wasteful struggle,” as his proxy battle last year with the company proved to be.