(Reuters) – Activist investor Carl Icahn has a significant position in casino operator Caesars (NASDAQ:) Entertainment, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The company’s shares jumped 15% after the report.
The size of Icahn’s share in the company could not be determined, the report said.
Last month, the casino operator, which operates Caesars Atlantic City and Caesars Palace, missed market expectations for its first-quarter results, offset by low table counts at its Las Vegas segment.
“I like Caesars and I have some shares, I would never be an activist in Caesars,” Icahn said on CNBC.
In February 2019, the billionaire investor called on Caesars to sell itself after disclosing his 9.78% stake in the company.
Icahn championed the sale of the company after Caesars rejected a 2018 merger proposal from Tilman Fertitta, the billionaire owner of Golden Nugget Casinos.
The activist investor said at the time that it was seeking representation on the Caesars board, including nominating a slate of directors at the company’s 2019 annual general meeting.
Months after Caesars struck a deal with Icahn and named three new directors to its board, Eldorado Resorts (NASDAQ:) agreed to buy rival Caesars Entertainment for about $8.5 billion in cash and stock.
Icahn said he was “pleased” with the deal announcement.
Following the completion of the merger in July 2020, the combined company decided to retain the Caesars name to capitalize on the value of the iconic global brand.
In 2020, Icahn said in a statement that he had dissolved his stake in the company.
Caesar and representatives for Icahn did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.