carl icahn
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Carl Icahn now a 13.7% shareholder in Take-Two
Monday 22 March 70-something kilos. My kilo talk has gotten others thinking I'm moving the company to Canada, but I <3 my NYC. Food consumed today: No low-fat blueberry muffins today on the cart. I only like the tops anyway. Heard some pleb in the office talking about Blueberry Muffin Tops as a cereal. Tried some. I'm not opposed. Afternoon. The beautiful weekend has shifted to gloomy overcast to fit my mood. New York. Cherished Diary, What is the iCahn up to? Carl Icahn previously put three of his specially selected associates on the Take-Two board (including iCahn-mini, Brett Icahn) after he obtained 11.3 percent in company stock. Now he's bought another 710,840 shares, which I estimate to cost about $7.1 million, giving him 13.7 percent of Take-Two stock. The confusing part, Diary, is why? He has over 10 percent already and three iPods on the board, the incremental increase in stock isn't anything big -- it's just, weird, you know? Of course, you know! Diary, that's why I can always trust you! I just wish I knew if he was gearing up to push for a buyout or trying to show more faith in the company now that he has boys on the board. I wish I knew. I really, really wish I knew. xoxo, Strudel [Via IndustryGamers]
Take-Two to nominate three new board directors; it's all about the iCahn
Thursday 21 January 70-something kilos. I've given up on weighing in lbs, kilos are so much kinder. Food consumed today: Anything that makes me look suave and like I know what I'm doing. Think I'm on my fifth martini, but I lost count after the fourth. Early morning, sun looks lovely coming out of the west ... north? ... really need to cut back on the martinis. New York. Dearest Diary, can I call you Di? Good. Oh, Di, why does Carl Icahn have to be such a meddler? You know what, I'm gonna start calling him iCahn, like an obnoxious Apple product. Hehe, iCahn. So, this guy ... this iCahn, he comes in and buys up 11.3 percent of the company a couple months ago and now he wants to put three of his own iBoys on the board of directors -- actually, I'm pretty sure one of them is an iCahn-mini: Brett Icahn. I ain't mad, Di. Let iCahn have his iPods on the board, I've been doing my thing since taking over Take-Two in 2007. He's got the right to put some guys on the board and shape things, bring balance -- distract some monkeys on my back. Who knows, maybe the iCahn boys will bring healthy skepticism and deliver productive ideas to improve profitability. Plus, what's the harm? If the winds take iCahn to another project and he holds less than five percent of the company stock, the iPods agree to leave immediately. Just another day in the biz. I kinda miss fighting with EA, this is so mundane in comparison. [Thanks to Michael Pachter and Jesse Divnich for context]
Circuit City looks for a suitor, Blockbuster likely to be it
Oddly enough, the far-fetched proposal is apt to be accepted. Circuit City has reportedly solicited the services of Goldman Sachs to help "negotiate a deal," which will essentially put the troubled electronics retailer in the hands of someone else. As it stands, Blockbuster looks to be the most interested in picking up the pieces, with billionaire Carl Icahn (Blockbuster's largest shareholder) agreeing to finance the get-together. Of course, it looks as if Blockbuster may be the only outfit interested. Not like that's any surprise, however, as Best Buy itself is having to look to Europe to boost revenues with US consumer spending off from where it once was. The real question here is whether a Circuit City-Blockbuster combo would be the perfect concoction to turn things around for both flagging firms, or will we find that two sinking ships actually do go down faster when anchored to one another?
Carl Icahn and Motorola bury the hatchet
Good news coming from the Motorola camp? Say it ain't so! The long-standing feud between the flagging company and investor Carl Icahn has finally come to an end, and lo and behold, the pending litigation between the two has even been dismissed. Apparently the two parties managed to agree that (effective immediately) Keith Meister, a managing director of the Icahn investment funds and principal executive officer of Icahn Enterprises would be "appointed to serve on the [firm's board of directors]," and William R. Hambrecht, founder, chairman and CEO of WR Hambrecht + Co. and co-founder of Hambrecht & Quist, would be "nominated for election" during the 2008 annual shareholders meeting. Heck, Moto's even soliciting Mr. Icahn's input in dealing with the hopeful separation of businesses -- but then again, it would probably take advice from just about anyone given the current state of affairs.
Icahn still wants Motorola's handset biz spun off
Most folks would take a failed executive board bid as a hint that their controversial opinions aren't welcome within earshot of the boardroom, wouldn't they? Maybe not. Investor, financier, outspoken individual, and rich dude Carl Icahn has once again spouted off about Motorola's business model, reiterating his stance that Moto's handset biz should be spun off and sold for something on the order of $10 billion. Compared side by side with the entirety of Nokia -- the world's largest mobile manufacturer -- it actually comes off sounding a little silly: Nokia's got a market capitalization hovering around $145 billion. Yes, that would value Motorola's phone operations at less than 8 percent of Nokia, which either makes Icahn sound like a fool, or Moto sound like it has a lot of work to do if it plans to recapture number two from Samsung.
Icahn loses bid for Motorola board seat
Motorola's annual shareholder meeting took place last night, and from initial results, billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn was not elected to the company's board of directors. The fire between Icahn -- who owns 2.9 percent of Motorola's shares -- and MOTOMNGMNT has turned into a venomous circus recently. The mud from all that slinging was still fresh last night at the company's annual shareholder's meeting where Moto's board of directors was up for election. Although Motorola CEO Ed Zander responded to Icahn's failed bid by saying "we remain steadfast in our commitment to continue building value for all of our stockholders," that sentiment had not been flying with the feisty billionaire investor. Although final tabulation of board election votes is still not 100 percent final right now, it looks like Icahn will need another venue to light a fire under Motorola's butt as the company struggles to return to profitability.
Motorola slams back at Carl Icahn
Billionaire financier Carl Icahn has a history of investing in companies where he can start exuding his influence for reform. The latest saga in Icahn's quest for corporate justice involves Motorola, where he wants CEO Ed Zander out (now). Motorola's troubles recently have been amplified in the financial media, as the company can't seem to replicate its RAZR success to save its life. The magic seems gone, and Icahn is pitching for a board seat so that he can instigate some management changes. In other words, Zander should be worried -- very worried. If the wireless giant can't return to sustainable profitability like, yesterday, Icahn may press even harder. The pressure has been so intense that Motorola recently sent an open letter to shareholders where it dissed the man (well, to a point). One thing is for sure -- Motorola is not leaving the cellphone biz for the action figure market like we were playfully guessing recently.
