Corporate robber Carl Icahn may be working on a new series starting today, he’s 88e birthday. JetBlue Airways announced Friday that it had struck a deal to award seats on the company’s board of directors to two representatives of Icahn’s companies. The lightning-quick JetBlue settlement came just days after the utility American electricity said it had reached an agreement with Icahn to place two of its representatives on the board.
At JetBlue, Icahn announced his 9.9% ownership stake on Monday, the same day new CEO Joanna Geraghty took over. It was also the same day that AEP announced its own deal with Icahn. His stakes in the two companies – and the wins – marked a public return to his well-worn activist investing background after weathering criticism from short seller Hindenburg Research. last year and promised to investors that he would stick to what he is good at: agitating for change on a board or in the role of CEO and unlocking value for shareholders.
In the joint statement, Geraghty said the company is working to restore its earning power. The airline has been reeling since a federal judge overturned a merger between JetBlue and JetBlue Spirit Airlines a month ago.
Shares of JetBlue rose 16% when Icahn announced his stake this week and 5.9% in after-hours trading after the announcement. Bloomberg reported.
“We are executing more than $300 million in revenue initiatives this year and are on track to deliver significant cost savings through our structural cost program, fleet modernization and fixed cost base reductions,” Geraghty said, adding that JetBlue “the contributions from our new board members as we move forward with that common goal.”
Icahn said he appreciated the “constructive engagement” with JetBlue’s board and C-suite.
“We are very much looking forward to working with them in the future,” he said.
JetBlue appointed Icahn Companies general counsel Jesse Lynn and Icahn Capital portfolio manager Steven Miller, the company said in a statement submit with the SEC. Lynn has served on boards of directors, among other things Crown Holdings, First Energy And Xerox. Miller is a board member at Dana IncorporatedBausch Health Companies and previously served on the Xerox board.
JetBlue Chairman Peter Boneparth said Lynn and Miller would add “useful insights” to the board as the company charts a path to growth. The two new board members will be non-voting observers when they join the board on February 26, and will not have voting rights until this year’s annual shareholder meeting.
Meanwhile, Icahn’s $120 million stake in AEP earned board seats for Hunter Gary, senior managing director of Icahn Enterprises, who joined AEP’s board along with Henry Linginfelter, former executive vice president of Southern Company Gas.
This story originally ran Fortune.com