In Icahn investments, son also rises
Brett Icahn is firing on all cylinders down a road less takešn (by his dad,ź¦« anyway).
Carl Icahnās son, 33, is making his father tecź¦°h-savvy, but with a decidedly different approach than Americaās most famous activist is used to taking.
Brett spotted what he considered an undervaluedź¦æ stock in Take-Two Interactive, the maker of the āGrand Theft Autoā video games, and his fatherās firm in January 2010 revealed it had accumulated an 11 percent stake.
The son soon after became a board member. But unlike his father, Brett has gained a reputation for letting mš®anagement execuą± te and seeing board members as peers.
However, Carl š¤”has hardly been a silent partner. In š °fact, after Brett spotted the Take-Two opportunity, Carl turned to long-time investment partner Strauss Zelnick to shake up the board, a source close to the situation told The Post.
An analyst who requested anonymity told The Post that Take-Twoās management is weak and its Rockstar Games developmentź¦¬ teaāØm essentially calls the shots.
āThaš§tās why āGrand Theft Autoā was delayeź¦d, delayed, delayed,ā the analyst said.
Management had to give the Rockstar team autonomyšØ to keep tšÆhem at the company, the analyst said.
Despite all that disarray, last week Take-Two said the fifth and latest installment of the GTA franchise rang up $800 million in first-day sales, blowing past the previous $500 million record set by ąµ©Activisionās āCall of Duty: Black Ops 2.ā
Since 2š010, the shares have risen from $10 to close last week at $16.99.
Overall, team Icahn has made roughly $200 million frą·“om Take-Two, of which it now owns a 13 percent stake.
Carl Icahn, who declined comment for thišŗs article, has credited Brett and David Schechter, 37, with being more tech-adept than he is and with finding investment opportunities in Netflix, Apple and voice-technology company Nuance, as well as Take-Two.