Global Courant 2023-05-10 21:36:52
Carl Icahn speaks at Delivering Alpha in New York on September 13, 2016.
David A. Grogan | CNBC
Icahn Enterprises, Carl Icahn’s conglomerate, saw its shares fall again on Wednesday after a revelation showed regulators are seeking information about its corporate governance.
Shares fell as much as 20% in morning trading, after losing nearly 25% last week. A filing found that the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York contacted Icahn Enterprises last Wednesday seeking information on corporate governance, capitalization, securities offerings, dividends, valuation, marketing materials, due diligence and other materials.
Regulators sought information a day after notable short seller Hindenburg Research took a short position against Icahn’s company. Hindenburg last Tuesday claimed “inflated” asset valuations, due in part to what it says is an unusually high net asset value premium in shares of the publicly traded holding company.
Stock Chart IconStock Chart Icon
Icon Enterprises
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office has made no claims or allegations against us or Mr. Icahn related to the foregoing investigation,” Icahn said in the 10-Q filing.
In a separate statement, Icahn called Hindenburg’s report “misleading and selfish,” saying the Nathan Anderson-led company used tactics to “deliberately destroy property and harm innocent civilians.”
“Mr. Anderson’s modus operandi is to launch disinformation campaigns to distort companies’ images, damage their reputations and bleed the hard-earned savings of individual investors,” Icahn said. “However, unlike many of his victims, we will not stand idly by. We intend to take all appropriate measures to protect our shareholders and fight back.”
Icahn, the most famous corporate raider in history, made a name for himself after he engineered a hostile takeover of Trans World Airlines in the 1980s and robbed the company of its assets. Most recently, the billionaire investor has engaged in activist investments in McDonald’s and biotech company Illumina.
Headquartered in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, Icahn Enterprises is a holding company that invests in a variety of businesses, including energy, automobiles, food packaging, metals and real estate.
Icahn said his company’s performance is below historical averages, largely because of the bearish view of the market.
“We recently took steps to reduce short positions in our hedge book and focus largely on activism, which has served us so well in the past,” Icahn said. “We believe our existing portfolio has significant upside potential over the coming years.”
Shares of Icon Enterprises are now down more than 35% since the start of the year.
