FILE- In this Friday, Sept. 8, 2006, file photo, a worker cleans the logo on the Herbalife sign as finishing touches are put on the company's building in Torrance, Calif. Herbalife came out swinging Thursday, Jan. 10, 2013 against claims made by hedge fund manager William Ackman that the business amounts to a pyramid scheme. (AP Photo/Herbalife, Susan Goldman)
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FILE- In this Friday, Sept. 8, 2006, file photo, a worker cleans the logo on the Herbalife sign as finishing touches are put on the company's building in Torrance, Calif. Herbalife came out swinging Thursday, Jan. 10, 2013 against claims made by hedge fund manager William Ackman that the business amounts to a pyramid scheme. (AP Photo/Herbalife, Susan Goldman)
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This Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012, photo, shows the Citibank Building in New York. Citigroup reported earnings that are below Wall Street's expectations as the bank's legal expenses climb on Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013. Citi earned $1.2 billion after paying preferred dividends, or 38 cents per share, in the three months ended Dec. 31. That compares with $933 million, or 31 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
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FILE -In this Friday, Nov. 23, 2012, file photo, sale signs are displayed at a Target store in Colma, Calif. Big retailers, from Best Buy to Target to Toys R Us, are engaging in a price war this holiday season, and shoppers can score some good deals if they know how to navigate them. But what's different this holiday season is that Best Buy and Target are matching online retailers such as Amazon.com for the first time. That's a big deal, since online prices tend to be lower than those in the store. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
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In this Aug. 21, 2012 photo, the Hewlett-Packard Co. logo is seen outside the company's headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif. HP said Autonomy Corporation PLC, a British company it bought for $10 billion last year, lied about its finances, resulting in a massive write-down of the value of the business. HP’s net loss for the fiscal fourth quarter, which ended Oct. 31, amounted to $6.85 billion, or $3.49 per share. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
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FILE - In this Jan. 27, 2010, file photo, Leo Apotheker, speaks at a press conference in Frankfurt. Hewlett-Packard Co. said Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012, that a British company it bought for $9.7 billion lied about its finances, resulting in a massive write-down of the value of the business. The deal was greenlighted by HP CEO Meg Whitman's predecessor, Leo Apotheker, but closed in October 2011, three weeks into Whitman's tenure. (AP Photo/dapd,Thomas Lohnes)
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The iPad Mini is shown in San Jose, Calif., Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012. The device has a screen that's about two-thirds the size of the full-size model, and Apple says it will cost $329 and up. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
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This Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2012, photo, shows an exterior view of Hewlett Packard Co. headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif. On Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2012, Hewlett-Packard Co. said it suffered an $8.9 billion loss during its most recent quarter after taking a previously announced charge against earnings for an acquisition that hasn't panned out the way management envisioned. The maker of personal computers is struggling to compete with mobile devices. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
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In this Monday, Aug. 20, 2012, photo, a Hewlett Packard keyboard is displayed at a Best Buy store in Mountain View, Calif. On Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2012, Hewlett-Packard Co. said it suffered an $8.9 billion loss during its most recent quarter after taking a previously announced charge against earnings for an acquisition that hasn't panned out the way management envisioned. The maker of personal computers is struggling to compete with mobile devices.(AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
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In this Monday, Aug. 20, 2012, photo, a Hewlett Packard keyboard is displayed at a Best Buy store in Mountain View, Calif. On Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2012, Hewlett-Packard Co. said it suffered an $8.9 billion loss during its most recent quarter after taking a previously announced charge against earnings for an acquisition that hasn't panned out the way management envisioned. The maker of personal computers is struggling to compete with mobile devices. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
Filing shows Icahn holds stake in Herbalife
The divide between billionaire investors
Carl Icahn and William
Ackman is getting deeper.
A regulatory filing Thursday shows that Icahn holds a 12.98 percent stake in nutritional supplement distributor Herbalife Inc. and intends to have discussions with its management on business and strategic alternatives to enhance shareholder value, including the possibility of going private.
Herbalife has become part a long-running feud between the two activist investors that led to a shouting match on live television last month. The two Wall Street titans traded barbs on CNBC about an old investment deal that ultimately led to a fight over Ackman's position on Herbalife.
Hedge fund manager Ackman said in December that he believes Herbalife is pyramid scheme and he took a short position in the stock. Short-sellers make money when the stock they're betting against declines.
Icahn has said publicly that it was no secret that he neither liked nor respected Ackman and didn't like how he had approached his short position in Herbalife, which he said was "getting a room full of people to bad mouth the company."
He has previously refused to comment on whether he held a position in Herbalife, but many speculated that Icahn bought a stake in a move against his old adversary. He joins another investor, Dan Loeb of Third Point LLC, who previously disclosed an 8.2 percent stake in Herbalife.
Herbalife shares have had a wild ride in the past few months, as it became a flashpoint for a number of high-profile investors. Greenlight Capital's David Einhorn, another prominent Wall Street figure, raised concerns about Herbalife's business in May. And shares dropped sharply following Ackman's comments in December.
The company has disputed Ackman's characterizations, meeting with analysts and investors in January to detail how its business operates and who its customers are. Ackman replied that Herbalife "distorted, mischaracterized, and outright ignored large portions" of his presentation.
Representatives from Icahn's firm, Icahn Capital Management and Ackman's firm, Pershing Square Capital Management, did not immediately comment on Icahn's Herbalife stake.
In an emailed response, a spokeswoman for Herbalife said, "We welcome all parties who see the same value in Herbalife that we do."
Herbalife soared $8.18, or 21.4 percent to $46.22 in Thursday after-hours trading following news of Icahn's holdings.
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