In a move where father teaches the son, the elder Icahn, billionaire Carl overruled son Brett in selling off more than half of his shareholdings in Netlix Inc. The reason for such sale is the 457% gain in the shares since reporting the said investment back in 2012.
Icahn sold nearly three million shares in the movie on order streaming company based out of Los Gatos, CA starting October 10 of this year. This was confirmed in regulatory documentation filed today. Despite the divestment, Icahn still owns 2.67 million shares or a 4.5% stake overall.
The elder Icahn laid out his reasons through a public statement. This was replied to by son Brett and fellow manager David Shecter, saying that Netflix still has significant growth potential. Icahn said that his share price as at USD58 per share, which computes at an almost USD800 million profit from the transaction.
The 77-year old Icahn said, "As a hardened veteran of seven bear markets, I have learned that when you are lucky and/or smart enough to have made a total return of 457% in only 14 months, it is time to take some of the chips off the table."
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