Tim Cook pressure could amass $700 per Apple share, says Carl Icahn

Activist investor says he has achieved 'large position' in company

Activist investor Carl Icahn has professed he has a "large position" in Apple, and that if CEO Tim Cook pushed for a larger buyback for shareholders than April's $100bn drive, shares could be worth up to $700 each.

Posting on Twitter, Icahn said: "We currently have a large position in Apple. We believe the company to be extremely undervalued. Spoke to Tim Cook today. More to come."

An hour later, Icahn spoke of having had "a nice conversation with Tim Cook today".

"Discussed my opinion that a larger buyback should be done now. We plan to speak again shortly."

While Apple has confirmed that conversation took place, it also said Icahn would not have any influence over management financial decisions regarding buybacks.

Icahn later told Reuters that if Apple borrowed funds at three per cent it could achieve a $150bn buyback, and if it did this and increased earnings by as low as 10 per cent, stock value could be raised to $700 a share.

Although Icahn has not revealed his exact stake in Apple, it is thought to be around the $1bn mark, while the company's total market value is more than $400bn. This makes Icahn unlikely, as Apple states, to be able to influence important decisions at the company.

Carl Icahn is perhaps currently best known for his ongoing bid to buy Dell, via a battle of capital and share price offers he is currently engaged in with company founder Michael Dell and associate investors Silver Lake Partners.

Most recently, Icahn has sued Dell's board after accusing them of colluding with Michael Dell to change voting rules to assist the founder's buyout.

Icahn's statements on Apple have so far had the effect of pushing the company's stock value nearly five per cent, causing it to close at a seven-month high of $489.57 on Nasdaq yesterday.