Total Pageviews

In Time, Icahn Discloses Latest Push for an Apple Buyback

Carl C. Icahn hasn’t exactly been quiet about his efforts to persuade Apple of the wisdom of a giant share buyback. Now, he’s on the cover of Time magazine pressing his case.

In an article for the magazine â€" bearing the subheadline “Why Carl Icahn is the Most Important Investor in America” â€" the veteran activist shareholder said that he has filed what’s known as a “precatory proposal” with the company to strengthen his cause. That fancily named initiative essentially lets shareholders vote on a nonbinding proposal advocating a big buyback.

That Mr. Icahn has gone forward with a relatively mild approach, rather than a full-blown proxy contest, signals that he’s still unwilling to unleash the kind of vitriol that has marked scores of his campaigns over the years. (During his fight over Dell Inc.‘s proposed leveraged buyout, the septuagenarian activist asked in one letter, “What’s the difference between Dell and a dictatorship?”)

Instead, he has kept the tone civil. From the Time article:

For his part, Icahn says he doesn’t consider his proposal an indictment of Apple CEO Tim Cook, or the company’s management, per se. “Tim Cook is doing a good job with the business,” Icahn tells TIME. “I think he’s good whether he does what I want or not.” But, says Icahn, referring to the company’s huge cash stockpile, “Apple is not a bank.”

and:

Shareholders, say Icahn, deserve a bigger share. And Cook, he says, has been willing to consider his views. Icahn told TIME: “We’ve discussed a lot of things, and he asked a lot of questions, and really listened.” Icahn says his most recent conversation with Cook was a 20-minute phone call Nov. 21 â€" which Cook’s assistant initially tried to schedule at 5 a.m. Pacific Time. “That’s usually when I go to bed! This guy’s tougher to get than the President,” laughs Icahn.

And on Twitter, Mr. Icahn admitted that he was no longer seeking a buyback of $150 billion, but some unspecified increase.

For its part, Apple has been polite, if noncommittal. A spokesman for the iPhone maker told the magazine that it’s still reviewing its shareholder buyback program and would announce any changes sometime early next year.