Carl Icahn has welcomed his son Brett back into the family business, although a more accurate description might be that he is charging him for entry. For $10 million – and a contribution toward each investment – Brett Icahn will get a new role managing investments at Icahn Enterprises with a three-man team, a chunk of depositary receipts, and promised jobs as CEO of the investment division and chairman of Icahn Enterprises in at least seven years’ time, by which point Carl Icahn will be 91.
Q2 2020 hedge fund letters, conferences and more
Carl Icahn Welcomed His Son Back
Beyond the Succession-like spectacle, the drama might indicate more activism from Icahn in the near future. Brett led the highly successful technology-focused Sargon Portfolio between 2010 and 2016 but stepped away when he felt opportunities had dried up. Since then, Icahn’s activism has mostly been in traditional industrial and oil and gas companies. Now, although Brett may be lower profile and less inclined to run proxy fights, the campaigns might broaden and increase.
Quote Of The Week
Quote of the week comes from a selection of Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) clippings provided by Ashford Hospitality Trust in defense of its cash and common stock exchange offer for its preferred shares, as part of a fundraising drive. Based on ISS’ and Glass Lewis’ cautious approval for the plan, activist attempts to play down the challenges faced by hard-hit industries may struggle to win support while COVID-19 is still around:
"There is no way to tell with a meaningful degree of certainty when the industry will reach the point at which the company could again become viable without intervention (in a form such as the proposed exchange offers)."
