Icahn abandons bid to control Time Warner

Financier Carl Icahn is scaling back his drive to shake up Time Warner Inc., abandoning efforts to seek control of the giant media company by nominating only a partial slate of directors, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

The newspaper, citing unnamed people familiar with Icahn’s plans, said Icahn would nominate only five directors at Time Warner’s next annual meeting, not enough to ensure control, amid signs that the dissident investor could be near some kind of an agreement with the company.

Time Warner declined to comment, and Icahn did not return a phone call seeking comment.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

The Journal reported on its Web site that Icahn’s proposed slate of directors would include Alan Weber, a former chairman of U.S. Trust; former TIAA-CREF executive Peter Clapman; Dale Hanson, a former executive with the California pension fund Calpers and Doug Bergeron, an executive with VeriFone. It would also include Frank Biondi, a veteran entertainment executive that Icahn had previously allied with.

The news came just days before a Feb. 19 deadline Icahn is facing to submit any nominations for directors ahead of Time Warner’s next annual shareholders meeting, which is expected to be held in May.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

Icahn is allied with a group of investors who collectively own slightly more than 3 percent of Time Warner’s stock. Last week the investment bank Lazard Ltd. released a report Icahn had commissioned calling for the breakup of Time Warner into four separate entities.

However, Icahn’s call to splinter Time Warner has received only limited support from investors.

This week Institutional Investor Services, an influential proxy advisory firm, urged investors to “apply a healthy dose of skepticism” whenever a company justifies a deal citing a valuation opinion from bankers or the highlighting of a name brand adviser.