Icahn Reports New Stakes In Mattel, Masco; No Stake In Yahoo
November 15 2010 - 6:42PM
Dow Jones News
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn reported Monday he has taken new
investments in toy maker Mattel Inc. (MAT) and building-products
maker Masco Corp. (MAS).
Icahn, known for his activist stances and battles with boards,
said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that
he built up a stake of 5.02 million shares in Mattel and 2.43
million shares in Masco, two bets that lean on the U.S. consumer
spending money.
But at the same time, he reported no stakes as of Sept. 30 in
two of his more high-profile holdings, fast-food chain
Wendy's/Arby's Group Inc. (WEN) and Yahoo Inc. (YHOO). Yahoo had
been the recipient of Icahn activism in 2008, but once the Internet
giant switched chief executives, he said he was content to pare his
stake back.
Last period, Icahn reported growing energy holdings, and he
again added to his holdings of oil and natural gas producer
Chesapeake Energy Inc. (CHK), boosting the stake to 16.64 million
shares, from 12.74 million at the end of June. But Icahn also
reported no stakes in Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC) or Ensco PLC
(ESV), two companies he reported new stakes in last period.
Among his other new holdings as of the end of September were
Commercial Metals Co. (CMC), with 2.46 million shares, and
Motricity Inc. (MOTR), at 4.4 million shares. Icahn's son Brett
Icahn recently joined the board of the mobile Internet company
Motricity and the two previously were reported to have discussed it
as an investment.
He also continued to boost his share of Lawson Software Inc.
(LWSN), which rose to 16.5 million shares, from 9.5 million last
period.
Investors who manage more than $100 million are often required
to disclose their holdings within a month and a half of the end of
every quarter. Icahn and others are sometimes given the ability to
keep some investments confidential. The filing indicated some of
his current holdings are in fact kept confidential.
The billionaire has been in the middle of many high-profile
board exchanges, and has been making waves the past few weeks
trying to stop private-equity firm Blackstone Group LP's (BX) bid
for energy company Dynegy Inc. (DYN). Icahn revealed last week his
stake in Dynegy had risen to 12.9%, or 15.6 million shares, and
reiterated earlier Monday he intends to vote against the deal.
He also has been active in his holdings in Lions Gate
Entertainment Corp. (LGF), where he now holds 44.6 million shares
in total, plus about $2 million in debt. He has had an outstanding,
long-running tender offer for all remaining shares of the film
studio. The studio, in turn, has sued Icahn.
Icahn has also been increasing his stake in Motorola Inc. (MOT),
which he disclosed earlier this month was at 265.6 million shares,
a stake that's growing in front of a split of Motorola's business,
which Icahn has said he expects to improve its value.
Last week, Icahn also revealed he had increased his holdings in
Hain Celestial Group Inc. (HAIN), which currently sits at 6.39
million shares. An increased stake in Mentor Graphics Corp. (MENT)
had also already been reported by Icahn.
Icahn reported little to no change to his holdings in
biotechnology stocks, including a steady stake in Amylin
Pharmaceuticals Inc. (AMLN), a drug maker that saw shares tumble
35% in the aftermath of a setback in its diabetes treatment.
His holdings in Genzyme Corp. (GENZ) remained at 13.1 million
shares as the drug maker finds itself in a fight with French
pharmaceutical giant Sanofi-Aventis SA (SNY) which is now pushing a
hostile takeover attempt. Icahn has two representatives on
Genzyme's board.
-By David Benoit, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2458;
david.benoit@dowjones.com
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