Taking on the WSJ
In his latest blog post, Icahn comments on the reporting of this whole process by the Wall Street Journal and the mainstream business press in general. The piece is entitled: “Response to Wall Street Journal article of July 22, "Icahn Ends Feud with Yahoo, Setting up an Uneasy Truce.”
Icahn takes issue with the WSJ and its assertion that he exerts “outsized influence” as a board member. He turns the issue back on the business press by asking why it doesn’t question corporate America more and why it doesn’t even seem that bothered one way or the other.
Sadly we can’t read the offending article because the WSJ demands a subscription that we’re not prepared to pay. But, according to Icahn, one of the examples the WSJ used to critique his management style was the successful proxy fight he undertook at video rental giant Blockbuster. Icahn retorts that “I stopped the Blockbuster purchase of MovieLink, which was approved by management to be purchased for over $50 million. Just four months later, Blockbuster bought the same company for only $5 million. The newspaper didn’t point this out.”"I led a campaign to block a $50 million-plus severance payment for the former CEO, which was really outrageous. But where is the outrage on the part of the media on this?”Additionally: “There are a number of major cost-saving moves that I initiated, including leading a campaign to block a $50 million-plus severance payment for the former CEO, which was really outrageous. But where is the outrage on the part of the media on this?”
Icahn was also the person that forced the Motorola board to separate its handset and broadband businesses, a similar strategy was soon adopted by our own Carphone Warehouse.
He concludes with the following statement: “It will be a good day for the American media when activism at faltering companies is applauded and not misunderstood or cast in a negative light -- as it all-too-often is.”
Our feeling is that Icahn is spot on. He’s doing nothing illegal nor is he being an asset stripper. What he wants to do is profit from making companies he has shares in perform better. The only people who lose out, it seems, are the management responsible for that underperformanc. And that’s fair enough.
Unlike the WSJ, Icahn doesn’t make you pay to read his thoughts, so head on over to his blog to read the full account. Once you’ve read it let us know what you think. Is Carl Icahn a Robin Hood or a Gordon Gecko? Are there any other companies you wish he’d take a large shareholding in? Do you think the business press is too easy on corporate executives? Comment in the HEXUS.community.
Related reading:
Icahn reveals he had doubts about winning Yahoo! proxy fight
