Carl Icahn, the billionaire activist investor, has dropped out of his $542 million investment in Xerox and sold his stake in the company. Xerox Holdings Corporation on September 29 bought back all of the stock that Carl Icahn and his associates owned.
Icahn was reportedly not in agreement with the Xerox board on major issues such as a plan in 2018 to merge with Fuji.
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The purchase price for the stock was $15.84 per share, the closing price of the Company’s common shares on September 27, 2023, the last full trading day prior to the execution of the Purchase Agreement.
Xerox said that it will fund the $542 million cost with a new debt facility. Xerox said the price was negotiated and unanimously recommended to Xerox’s Board of Directors by a Special Committee of the board, comprised solely of independent and disinterested directors. Xerox board member Scott Letier will be the new chairman of the company’s board.
“Our decision to repurchase shares is reflective of the confidence we have in our business, our strategy and our ability to improve Xerox profitability and cash performance,” said Steve Bandrowczak, Chief Executive Officer of Xerox.
Carl Icahn said “As a longtime shareholder of Xerox, I’ve watched this iconic brand endure the hardest of times and come out stronger, all while returning substantial amounts of capital back to shareholders.”
And the investor added that, even though he has now divested himself from Xerox, he will “continue to be a champion of the company and hope my activism will long be remembered as Xerox continues its positive momentum.”
Carl Icahn is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He is the founder and controlling shareholder of Icahn Enterprises, a public company and diversified conglomerate holding company based in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida. Icahn’s business model is to take large stakes in companies that he believes will appreciate from changes to corporate policy. Subsequently, Icahn then pressures management to make the changes that he believes will benefit shareholders.
Widely regarded as one of the most successful hedge fund managers of all time and one of the greatest investors on Wall Street, he was one of the first activist shareholders and is credited with making that investment strategy mainstream for hedge funds.
Carl Icahn was born in Queens, New York, in 1936. He graduated from Princeton University with a degree in philosophy in 1957. He began his career as a stockbroker and later founded his own brokerage firm. In the 1970s, Icahn began investing in distressed companies, often taking control of them and making changes to improve their performance.
In the 1980s, Carl Icahn developed a reputation as a “corporate raider” after profiting from the hostile takeover and asset stripping of Trans World Airlines. However, in recent years, Icahn has shifted his focus to more activist investing, working with companies to improve their performance and create value for shareholders.
