As became known on 5 December, US billionaire Carl Icahn cashed in most of his investment in South Korea's KT&G with an estimated US$ 120 million in capital gains, sources said, after succeeding in making the tobacco firm boost shareholder value.

The deal marks a win for the US corporate raider following his high-profile investment with former US partner Warren Lichtenstein in KT&G, that nearly triggered the first unsolicited foreign takeover bid for a major Korean company.
Shares in KT&G fell as much as 5.75 per cent, but analysts said the downside should be limited given KT&G's attractive returns and considering the possibility that yet another activist shareholder might have bought the stake. Icahn's push could spur other investors, both foreign and domestic, to buy stakes in undervalued companies and use their ownership to demand corporate governance changes, analysts said. (pi)