A tradition in Canada is to play Roll Up The Rim To Win at the local Tim Horton’s every March. Well, activist investor Carl Ichan wants to roll up to RIM to win. Rumors swirled today that Ichan is going to make a play for the smart phone maker:
Stoked by rumours that legendary activist Carl Icahn was circling the BlackBerry-maker, RIM’s stock had its strongest rally in weeks. More than $1.2-billion of RIM stock traded in New York and Toronto on Tuesday, boosting the company’s stock 3.63 per cent to close at $23.15 on the Toronto Stock Exchange – down from an 8-per-cent spike at midday.
At least something positive happened to the stock. Clearly investors like the Ichan might be getting involved. Clearly Balsillie and Lazaridis have to get their act together because if they don’t, they’ll get to see the sort of fight that Yahoo got a few years ago. Something that Yahoo couldn’t afford at the time, and something they have never fully recovered from. RIM better keep that in Mind.
Ichan Gives Up Chase For Dell
Posted in Commentary with tags Carl Icahn, Dell on September 9, 2013 by itnerdI suspect that Michael Dell will be sleeping easier tonight as News.com is reporting that his arch-nemesis Carl Ichan has given up trying to take control of Dell:
In an open letter to Dell stockholders published by the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, Icahn said he determined that it would be “almost impossible” to win against the offer by Michael Dell and Silver Lake to purchase the company and take it private.
“We have therefore come to the conclusion that we will not pursue additional efforts to defeat the Michael Dell/Silver Lake proposal, although we still oppose it and will move to seek appraisal rights,” he said.
The vote to take Dell private is scheduled for Thursday and it looks like smooth sailing for Michael Dell and Silver Lake. Though Ichan isn’t going quietly. Here’s a snippet from the open letter:
The Dell board, like so many boards in this country, reminds me of Clark Gable’s last words in “Gone with the Wind,” they simply “don’t give a damn.” If you are incensed by the actions of the Dell Board as much as I am, I hope you will choose to follow me on Twitter where from time to time I give my investment insights. I also intend to point out what I consider to be unconscionable actions by boards and discuss what remedies shareholders may take to change the situation.
Ouch. Talk about a sore loser.
Leave a comment »