Carl Icahn, who opines on corporate governance and investor activism via his
missives to executives and blog
The Icahn Report,
is not the only financier blogging. Venture capital veteran Alan
Patricof, the founder of private equity firm Apax Partners,
occasionally posts his thoughts on the Huffington Post.
In his latest, he directly addresses Icahn and his activist brethren.
Continue reading below
Patricof lists a number of new duties Icahn will likely
be responsible for as a Yahoo! Inc. board member. It's a sly dig at
Icahn who contends on his blog
that most directors just show up occasionally to rubberstamp management
plans and collect a check. Patricof has no love lost for activist
investors:
If a shareholder wishes to be an activist, he or she
should have an interest in the long-term success of the company and not
have the luxury of agitating in public with no constructive plan, no
burden of fiduciary obligation and the ability to swing in and out at
their pleasure.
As part of his settlement with Yahoo!, Icahn has to
maintain 30 million shares or he'll lose his boards seats. Patricof
believes that rule is the way "it should be" for all activists. - Matthew Wurtzel
