Carl Icahn

  • 05 Apr 2010 at 12:30 PM

Barney Frank Has Muzzled Carl Icahn

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We know Carl Icahn is such a tough guy he’ll sue his friends and fellow billionaires to win deals. But, has the outspoken sultan of shareholder rights been silenced by Washington lawmakers?

The billionaire’s blog, The Icahn Report, launched nearly two years ago with much fanfare to take on inept corporate boards, has been radio silent for nearly a year. (Icahn also started a grassroots campaign – The United Shareholders of America – at the same time.)

Carl, WTF? We need you. Are you too busy sparring with The Donald and Lions Gate to weigh in on financial reform and corporate governance? Continue reading »

  • 22 Mar 2010 at 12:30 PM

Despite Trump’s Claims To The Contrary, Carl Icahn Has DEFINITIVE PROOF He And The Don Are Not Good Friends

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The Times had a long profile of Carl Icahn over the weekend, wondering if the activist investor still has a fight in him, his likes and dislikes (being referred to as “raider,” for one), his early years in the biz (“When he turned 15, he played his own version of the ice futures market as a cabana boy at a beach club, ordering extra ice on hot mornings to sell to visitors who would run out later in the day”) and whether he has any plans to retire (“What else am I going to do?” Mr. Icahn asks. “Play shuffleboard?”). The article also discusses Icahn’s public feud with Donald Trump over three Atlantic City casinos bearing the Don’s name, which Carl was trying to gain control of. Here’s what Donald had to say about the matter:

“He told me he was doing it because he heard I wasn’t involved, but he knew I was involved, that I had a deal with bondholders,” Mr. Trump said. “I was very surprised and also very disappointed that Carl got involved,” Mr. Trump added. He said the two had been friends for years and that Mr. Icahn had sought his advice when he was divorcing his first wife. Mr. Trump said the two had not spoken since the call.

And here’s Ichan’s side the story:

“I should be the one that is surprised he is upset,” Mr. Icahn said. “I might possibly feel bad had I interfered at a time when he was running the business,” but that’s not the case, he added.

But the way more important thing that Uncle Carl wants to clarify? These two are in no way close friends, even using the loosest definition of the term. You wanna know how Carl knows this? Take a look at this picture:

Continue reading »

  • 23 Feb 2010 at 4:54 PM

Carl Icahn And Donald Trump Rumble In AC

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donaldtrump.jpgDonald Trump is dueling it up with activist investor Carl Icahn over Atlantic City’s Trump Entertainment Resorts. Specifically, the two are fighting for ownership of the property, which Trump does not currently own. Don’s argument is that the casinos “would be hurt if Icahn won because it would take the Trump name off them.”

Continue reading »

  • 02 Dec 2009 at 1:08 PM

Carl Icahn: The Problem With Corporate America Is That It’s Full Of Fraternity Presidents

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Watch it on Academic Earth

[via BI]
Nice guys, but not too bright, according to Carl, who was addressing a bunch of Yale students via Webcam. He also talks about how he “made a few bucks playin’ pokah,” Princeton being a better school than Yale (but Yale still being “pretty good”), and the model and car he used to ride just after getting out of school. He seems to have some difficulty with the technology (he can’t hear all the questions in the Q&A and leans in very close and starts shouting at the screen at one point), and at times you think he’s going to tell the kids to take five so he can catch a few winks but there’s something mesmerizing about the whole thing (probably the accent) and I really just want him to be my grandfather.

  • 02 Nov 2009 at 7:02 AM

CIT Bankruptcy Shows Who’s Boss

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Score this one as a loss for the TARP Program: CIT Group, the ancient commercial lender bailed out late last year by the federal government and earlier this year by a group of hedge funds, has gone into bankruptcy protection.
CIT filed for bankruptcy yesterday. That’s great news for its creditors–including those hedge funds and equally-ancient corporate raider Carl Icahn, whose $1 billion will keep the firm going during its stay at Club Chapter 11. But for Tim Geithner and the Treasury Department? Less so.

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  • 14 Aug 2009 at 3:19 PM

It’s A Dog Eat Dog World Out There

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It’s not news that Carl Icahn loves a good fight. But watching hedgie v. hedgie in a grudge match just seems dull. Who does one root for?

Activist investor Carl Icahn is under fire from a hedge fund that accuses the billionaire investor of enriching himself at the expense of minority shareholders in XO Holdings Inc (XOHO.OB), a company he controls.
R2 Investments LDC in June filed a lawsuit in New York state court complaining that Icahn tried to take XO’s $3.5 billion of net operating losses (NOLs) for his own use but at an inadequate price. NOLs are valuable because they can offset income in later periods to reduce taxes.

Ok, who is going to be the first Dealbreaker reader to make an electronic exchange for NOLs that actually works?
Hedge fund suit says Icahn hurt XO investors [Reuters]

  • 12 May 2009 at 8:04 AM

Ackman: I Am Not GekkoIcahn

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ackman3.jpgWe aren’t totally sure that “soft sell” is how we would put it, but maybe softer sell. And this is definitely just because we can’t help but root for Ackman (90% losses are nothing compared to boyish charm, you know) and Target is such a tantalizing… er… target. Plus, anyone who doubles down with such ease cannot help but attract our (sideways, nervous) glance. So, if the Post wants to give us WA the soft-seller underdog, we’re game.

Portraying himself as “the underdog” in the fight, Ackman referred to Target’s board as a stagnating “friend of Bob,” with change-resistant members handpicked long ago by retired chairman Bob Ulrich.
As he introduced his own slate to Target investors at a Midtown auditorium yesterday, Ackman took pains to insist that his own nominees — with backgrounds in groceries, credit cards and corporate governance, in addition to real estate — weren’t merely stooges assembled to further his own agenda.
“I just want independent, fresh perspective on the board,” Ackman said.

(Michael Douglas actually thought Gekko was evil, and Carl may be the elder statesman of activists, but you are the young upstart for us every time! Call us WA! We still love you!)
Ackman’s Soft Sell [The New York Post]