Carl Icahn is enjoying something of a resurgence.
According its latest letter to investors (via Bloomberg), the flagship Icahn Partners fund is up 16 per cent in 2009. Of particular note though is the fact that 7.3 per cent of those gains were made in the last month alone, compared to an industry average of about 3 per cent.
All of which comes after a disastrous 2008, in which Icahn Partners saw the value of its assets fall 38 per cent.
As Dealbook notes, Icahn is - after his recent proxy wins at Amlyn and Biogen - on a roll.
It’s also worth noting that Icahn is one of a number of activist investors turning increasingly to bonds as a means of seizing control of embattled companies. In a letter to investors at the start of May, Icahn said he saw a “once in a generation” opportunity in distressed corporate debt, adding that he expected credit to be a larger driver of returns among his several funds (which collectively manage around $5.5bn) than ever before.
The question is then: whose debt is Icahn buying? So far he’s been keeping his cards very close to his chest.
