Neil Hughes
While he initially described dinner with Tim Cook as "cordial," Icahn later revealed in an interview that his talks with Apple's CEO about the use of the company's cash reserves were "a little testy" at times.
Icahn also revealed in an interview on CNBC that Cook was joined by Apple Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer for their discussions in New York City on Monday. It was there that the three apparently disputed whether shareholders should have a say in how Apple executives opt to spend the company's cash.
"The board is not God," Icahn said. "And the board, in this kind of a case, should be listening to what the shareholders want."
The billionaire investor believes Apple should increase its share buyback program and spend $150 billion on its own shares. Apple's current plan calls for it to spend a total of $100 billion through 2015 on share buybacks as well as dividend payouts.
Earlier Tuesday, Icahn took to Twitter to say that he had a "cordial dinner" with Cook. The two parties will meet to continue their "dialogue" in about three weeks, which is about the same time that Apple is expected to report its fourth-quarter earnings for fiscal 2013.
Though he has publicly said he believes shares of AAPL are "extremely undervalued," Icahn has a reputation for causing trouble with tech companies. He famously opposed Michael Dell's efforts to take PC maker Dell private, won three seats on Yahoo's Board of Directors, and is also credited with helping to force out the CEO of Motorola before the handset maker was bought by Google.
Icahn is said to have about a $1.5 billion stake in Apple. While that's a considerable sum, it would not put him among the company's largest shareholders, particularly institutional investors with significant stakes.
Charles Martin
Christine McKee
Oliver Haslam
William Gallagher
63 Comments
If it got testy from Apple's side (which is what it sounds like), more props to Tim.
OTOH, if it was from Icahn's side, what else is new -- he seems to thrive on getting into fights. Here's an example: http://on.wsj.com/19fodJq (or if you want to watch the whole thing http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000143591; be warned that, while it's entertaining, it's 27 minutes of your life you wan't get back!).
Yeah go Tim. Carl probably thought this would be an easy pitch. My belief is Apple would turn into another HP or DELL in a heartbeat if it changed how it works. It would start to turn down design team choices that had higher manufacturing expenses for example.
We all know, Carl, that you have Apple's best interest at heart and that this has nothing to do with your own self interest. I mean, really , if anyone really thinks about this, what have you got to gain from pushing Tim Cook around.
/s (as if that really had to be stated)
Icahn has always enjoyed throwing his financial weight around. Perhaps he has a fantasy where he takes over Apple and changes his name to iCahn. I don't see him changing his name until after he is in control of Apple and, since that's not going to happen, we can be carelessly amused.
Icahn has always enjoyed throwing his financial weight around. Perhaps he has a fantasy where he takes over Apple and changes his name to iCahn. I don't see him changing his name until after he is in control of Apple and, since that's not going to happen, we can be carelessly amused.