Netflix shares soar as Carl Icahn acquires stake

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn has acquired 10% of Netflix, sending shares in the online video site skywards and fuelling speculation that the company will soon be acquired.

In a regulatory filing, Icahn disclosed that he had acquired 5.5 million Netflix shares for around US$168.9 million. The news saw Netflix shares rise 14% to close at US$79.24.

Icahn, who was previously the largest shareholder in failed DVD rental company Blockbusters, said Netflix was undervalued and told Bloomberg that “there is going to be great consolidation between Netflix and, everybody’s read about it, Amazon or Microsoft or Verizon or Google, there are so many possible combinations”.  

Netflix has been the subject of a number of takeover rumours, with Microsoft being the latest name linked to the company.

Last week Netflix reduced its subscriber target in the US from seven to five million. It has also struggled in its international markets, where losses for the third quarter increased to US$92 million (€71 million).