Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ: TTWO) announced on the 21st of January that it would add Carl Icahn’s three board nominees to its slate of nominees for the 2010 Annual Stockholder Meeting. Mr. Icahn’s three nominees will take the places of Ben Feder, Grover C. Brown, and John F. Levy, who will not stand for re-election. According to Take-Two’s press release, the entertainment software developer has proposed “this change in board representation at the request of certain stockholders, including Carl Icahn.” Mr. Icahn’s nominees for the three seats are SungHwan Cho, Brett Icahn and James L. Nelson.
According to a statement, “the Board concluded a director selection process that included a vetting and nominating process for Mr. Icahn’s candidates and also the consideration of other independent qualified directors.” Mr. Icahn also agreed to vote for Take-Two’s other nominees, including several incumbent members, at the Stockholder Meeting.
Take-Two Interactive Software is a “global developer, marketer, distributor and publisher of interactive entertainment software games” for many well-known entertainment systems, including the PC, Playstation, Xbox 360, Wii, and Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch. Well-known shareholder activist hedge fund manager Carl Icahn obtained an 11.3% stake in Take-Two in December of last year, according to SEC filings. Mr. Icahn founded his firm Icahn Associates, a diversified holding company and hedge fund manager, in 1985.
Other notable hedge fund managers that held significant stakes in Take-Two as of 9/30/09 include: Larry Robbins’ Glenview Capital Management (3,370,723 shares, 4.1% s/o), Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Asset Management (2,516,000 shares, 3% s/o), and Alan Fournier’s Pennant Capital Management (958,869 shares, 1.2% s/o). |
