Carl Icahn's recent exploits

The recent news of Mr. Carl Icahn placing his big bet on Apple Inc. was something we couldn’t afford to miss, and while we sit tight thinking that any day Mr. Icahn may send out a tweet about firing one of the key personnel of Apple, I personally feel that this time, it’s going to take time for the Investor Activist, as he likes to call himself, to turn Apple management’s world upside down. The only reason I believe for the delay is because he is presently busy in giving Michael Dell, CEO of Dell Inc. a tough time.

Michael Dell did not foresee Carl Icahn’s arrival, not even in his weirdest dreams and I bet at this point in time, he wished he had a crystal ball. Now if I were to take a firm like Dell private, it would definitely create a buzz, and on top of it, if I were to underpay my stockholders for every share they owned, I would definitely be expecting a Carl-o-storm.

So what could possibly be driving Mr. Icahn to always be upping his game? While many people would conveniently say that he is money driven, I’d beg to differ. I feel that he wants to be known today the same he used to be in the past, a Corporate Raider (can be one of the few names). That’s the only thing he has been doing, a thing which he is undoubtedly good at. He might have no doubt started off as being money driven, but I feel he is now more pleasure driven, for lack of a better word.

He would always want to be remembered as a nightmare for the company executives who sit on huge salaries, great bonuses and are unable to deliver value to their shareholders. Who knows, he may even retire after his Apple gig, but I seriously wouldn’t want that. I would love to see what he can get delivered from the already delivering Google Inc., or even Microsoft; in case he intends to retire in his late 80’s.

Since only Carl Icahn can tell what’s up his sleeve and on his mind, there’s no point in brainstorming or wasting time, predicting his next move. I suggest let’s just sit back and enjoy our drinks because the Master is in no hurry.