Icahn made his comments late Tuesday at the Delivering Alpha conference in NY hosted by CNBC and Institutional Investor. As the effective headliner of the event, Icahn made notable comments on a number of his positions, including Herbalife Ltd. “Some people make a great living from Herbalife”, Icahn told the audience.
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Icahn drew a line between the stock market, which is performing well, and the economy, where growth continues to be below trend. He announced Tuesday that he wants to increase that stake to 50%. Icahn said he now owns about 20% of Herbalife’s shares.
Icahn took a jab at activist investor and billionaire Bill Ackman, who has traded verbal punches with Icahn over Herbalife’s business model.
Icahn concluded by mentioning he “thought about” a tender offer for Herbalife, but now has “no stated intent” to do that offer. Shares of Herbalife were up 2.2% in moderate volume in afterhours trade following Icahn’s statement.
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Icahn also argued that Herbalife would be better off as a private company to avoid some of the public scrutiny it has received.
