Take-Two buys out Icahn

US investor Carl Icahn is no longer involved with Take-Two after the publisher bought out the outspoken exec’s share interest.

Take-Two acquired all of Icahn’s stocks at yesterday’s $16.93 closing price, representing a transaction worth a total of $203.5m.

As per previous agreements, as a result of the buyout all three serving Icahn Group designees – Brett Icahn, Jim Nelson, and SungHwan Cho – have resigned from the Take-Two board.

"This share repurchase reflects our confidence in the company’s outlook for record results in fiscal 2014 and continued non-GAAP profitability every year for the foreseeable future," Take-Two chairman and CEO Strauss Zelnick stated.

"With our ample cash and strong expected cash flow, we are able to pursue a variety of investment opportunities, including repurchasing our company’s stock.

"On behalf of our board and management team, I would like to thank Brett, James and Sung for their support, dedication and service to our organization. They leave Take-Two better positioned than ever for continued success."

Icahn has never been shy of flexing his muscle and was in 2010 linked with a possible buyout of Take-Two after forcing the resignation of CEO Ben Feder from its board. He also recently picked a fight with Apple boss Tim Cook, demanding that he embark on a fierce stock buyback plan.

However, there have been signs recently that Icahn is preparing to cool his tech interests having given up on his efforts to assume control of Dell.