The Wall Street Journal-20080212-Icahn Reports Stake In Alliance Data

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Icahn Reports Stake In Alliance Data

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NEW YORK -- Billionaire investor Carl C. Icahn yesterday reported a 2.73% stake in Alliance Data Systems Corp., saying that he believes the stock is undervalued. He also said his group reserves "the right to seek to have conversations with members of [Alliance Data's] management regarding the transaction [with] affiliates of Blackstone Group."

On Friday, Alliance announced it dropped a lawsuit attempting to force Blackstone to complete a $6.4 billion buyout, saying Blackstone indicated it is "committed to working toward" closing the deal. The Dallas credit-card-billing and payment processor had sued after Blackstone said it couldn't complete the buyout because of objections by federal banking regulators.