WebMD, the online health site.Ready or not, WebMD, here comes Carl C. Icahn.
Mr. Icahn, ever the activist investor, disclosed in a regulatory filing on Wednesday that he was urging WebMD, the online health site, to buy back up to $1 billion of its stock as an alternative to any possible sale to a private equity firm. Mr. Icahn, who is WebMD’s largest shareholder, said he was not aware of a possible sale nor would he support one. Instead, he recommended that the company use its cash to buy back shares through a Dutch tender offer, with a price of $36 at the high end.
Shares of WebMD rose nearly 3 percent on Wednesday to close at $36.22.
Earlier this month, Mr. Icahn disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that he had increased his stake in WebMD to 9.49 percent from 7.94 percent. Another billionaire investor, George Soros, also recently disclosed that he had amassed a 5.59 percent stake in WebMD. Mr. Icahn has previously described WebMD as “undervalued from a long-term perspective.”
Mr. Icahn has made some tidy profits from agitating change at undervalued technology companies. This summer, he reaped a windfall when Google agreed to acquire the handset maker Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion. Overnight, his stake of 26.8 million shares of Motorola turned into a $1.1 billion fortune.