Financials show Icahn had sold his shares in Genzyme

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. Carl Icahn has apparently decided to leave Genzyme alone after regulatory filings released Thursday showed that the investor sold his shares in the company late last year, according to published reports.

Icahn’s investment firm, Icahn Capital Management, reported that it owned 1.5 million shares of Genzyme, or less than 1 percent of the stock, at the end of September, but sold its stake by the end of December. The filings didn’t indicate exactly when Icahn bought or sold the stock, but he likely turned a profit as Genzyme shares rose 20 percent in the fourth quarter, when Icahn sold his shares.

Genzyme had been getting pressure from Icahn to either sell off or break up the company, to which Genzyme chief executive Henri Termeer took offense and made it a priority to not bow down to Ichan.

Icahn, though, should not be worried; he has already won battles at some other biotech companies. He took control of ImClone Systems board in 2006. And last year, MedImmune agreed to sell itself to drug maker AstraZeneca for $15.6 billion after Icahn pushed for a sale. And now more recently, it is apparent he has his sights on Biogen Idec after he recently nominated three people for election to its board in late December.