Icahn Buys 1 Million More Take-Two Shares

Activist investor Carl Icahn has boosted his stake in publisher Take-Two with the purchase of over a million shares, making him now a 12.3 percent stakeholder in the company. Icahn has a history of taking large stakes in companies facing troubled waters and then pressing changes he believes will improve its share price. Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two recently closed out its fiscal year with a 137.9 million net loss. Veteran firebrand Icahn recently selected three new nominees for Take-Two's board. The election of Icahn's nominees would mean CEO Ben Feder, while remaining chief executive, will no longer have a board seat. Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick stressed that the board members chose not to stand for re-election and were not asked by Icahn to step down. Zelnick is a longtime colleague of Icahn's -- Icahn arranged for Zelnick and himself to join the board at Blockbuster, for example. Icahn bought the shares at prices ranging from 9.21 to 9.24. The stock has been declining since its high in the $27 range in June 2008 following the success of Grand Theft Auto IV and during the takeover attempt by Electronic Arts, which bid $25.74 per share for the company.