Carl Icahn has been under pressure since May, when the short-seller Hindenburg Research alleged that his publicly traded conglomerate, Icahn Enterprises (IEP), used a high but unsustainable dividend yield to lure retail investors into a “Ponzi-like” operation where assets were held at inflated prices. Hindenburg’s founder, Nathan Anderson, further alleged that Icahn had personally borrowed billions using his IEP shares as collateral and then invested the money in his own funds amid consistent losses.
Shares of IEP plummeted 60% after Hindenburg’s May 1 report, falling to a low of $20 per share by May 25. Icahn, who made his name as a corporate raider in the 1980s, saw his net worth plunge $10 billion in a single day after the report went public. But now, the billionaire has disclosed in an SEC filing that he's struck a deal with multiple banks to help right his embattled ship, leading IEP stock to soar 20% Monday.
