R.R. Donnelley (RRD) Attracts An Activist

In a 13D filing on R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company (NYSE: RRD), Atlantic Investment Management disclosed a 5% (10,775,250 share) stake in the company and said it will continue its active discussions with the company's management with respect to actions which might be taken by the management of the company to maximize shareholder value. Atlantic Investment Management said it also may hold discussions with other parties who might engage in shareholder value enhancing activities.

Icahn Get FTC Okay To Raise CSX Stake

According to a posting a ftc.gov, Carl Icahn and related funds was granted early termination notice from the FTC, required under the Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust law, on CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX).

The approval would let Icahn buy between $418.6 million to $1.6 million of CSX stock, according to Bloomberg, which cited a company spokesman.

At 12/31, Icahn Capital held 2.9 million shares of CSX of 0.69%.

CSX has been the target of another activist investor, The Children's Investment Fund.

Loeb's Third Point LLC Shows New Stake in AK Steel (AKS), Raises CCU, Lowers DDS

Daniel Loeb's Third Point LLC released their 13F for the quarter ended December 31, 2007 yesterday afternoon.

Here are a few highlights:

* New 700,000 share stake in AK Steel Holding Corp. (NYSE: AKS)

* Raises stake in Clear Channel Communications Inc. (NYSE: CCU) from 2,750,000 to 3,500,000

* Lowers stake in Dillard's Inc. (NYSE: DDS) from 2,400,000 to 1,750,000

The full summary of Loeb's 13F is available at our main site here

Lampert's RBS Partners Shows New Stake in Acxiom (ACXM), Admits Defeat in Citi

Eddie Lampert's RBS Partners (ESL Investments) released their 13F for the quarter ended December 31, 2007 yesterday afternoon.

Here are a few highlights:

* New 3,293,989 share stake in Acxiom Corp. (Nasdaq: ACXM). Eddie had shares of 2,948,989 shares at September 30, 2007, but the stake was just disclosed yesterday in an amended 13F filing after confidential treatment expired.

* Citigroup (NYSE: C) lowered from from 27,787,069 shares to 19,083,800 shares. Eddie got killed in this stock.

The full summary of Eddie's 13F is available at our main site here

Buffett's Berkshire Shows Big Stake in Kraft Foods (KFT)

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway released their 13F for the quarter ended December 31, 2007 this afternoon. Here are a few highlights:

* New132,393,800 share stake in Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT)

* New 1,510,500 share stake in GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK)

* Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) stake raised to 289,259,868 shares

* Iron Mountain Inc. (NYSE: IRM) stake cut from 9,047,850 shares to 4,663,900 shares

The full summary is available at our main site here

Icahn's Latest 13F Is Out (JCP, M, GENZ)

Carl Icahn's hedge fund released their 13F for the quarter ended December 31, 2007 this afternoon. Here are a few highlights:

*New 4M+ share stake in J. C. Penney Company, Inc (NYSE: JCP) (this was reported by WSJ DealBlog a little while ago)

* Boosted stake in Macy's (NYSE: M) by about 1M shares to about 5M shares

* No longer holds stake in biotech co Genzyme Corp. (Nasdaq: GENZ). He had held 1.5M shares.

The full summary is available at our main site here

D. E. Shaw Discloses 5.7% Stake in Orient-Express Hotels (OEH), Expresses Concerns With Share Structure

In a 13D filing on Orient-Express Hotels Ltd. (NYSE: OEH), D. E. Shaw and affiliated funds discloses a 5.7% stake (2,256,365 shares) and a disclosed a letter to the company expressing certain concerns with respect to the Company's corporate governance structure, including the rights of the Company’s Super Voting Class B shares and whether owners of the Company’s Class A shares will have the opportunity to hold a definitive and binding vote regarding a merger or sale of the Company should a proposal be made.

The firm said the lack of clarity on these points may (i) hinder interested parties from making such a proposal and (ii) create an unnecessary and significant valuation discount.

From the Letter:

"As shareholders of OEH we have become increasingly concerned by the public communications between the Company and Indian Hotels. The continuation of this unproductive dialogue threatens to impose substantial costs on all shareholders. To address the root cause of this problem, which we believe lies in widespread confusion regarding the Company’s corporate governance structure, we strongly encourage the Board to immediately and publicly clarify the rights of the Company's Super Voting Class B shares and how the Company intends to use these shares in the event a fair and equitable offer for the Company as a whole is received. Specifically, the Board should indicate whether or not owners of the Company’s Class A shares will have the opportunity to hold a definitive and binding vote regarding a merger or sale of the Company should such a proposal be made. The lack of clarity on this point may be hindering interested parties from submitting proposals and is creating an unnecessary and significant valuation discount.

We trust that the Company will see fit to provide satisfactory clarity on this issue. Should the Company fail to respond adequately to our concerns, we reserve our rights as shareholders to take any actions we may deem appropriate."

NOTE: Orient-Express has been the target of takeover approaches from Indian Hotels and the Dubai Investment Group.

Richard Breeden's Next Target: Steris Corp. (STE)

In a 13D filing after the close Friday on Steris Corp. (NYSE: STE), Richard Breeden's Breeden Capital disclosed a 6.72% stake (4,259,973 shares) in the company. The firm held 2,621,973 shares of STE at the quarter ended September 30, 2007.

Breeden's firm noted that their firm has had conversation with the company's management and non-executive chairman and plan to continue to pursue ongoing discussions. The firm said discussions to date have related primarily to the business, financial performance, capital allocation, operations, strategic plans and disclosure practices of the Company. The firm said they may also communicate with the board of directors and/or other shareholders from time to time with respect to operational, strategic, financial or governance matters, or otherwise encourage actions that the Reporting Persons believe in their discretion will enhance shareholder value.

Cypress Semi (CY) Said It Will Explore an Acquisition of Simtek (SMTK)

In an amended 13D filing after the close on Simtek (Nasdaq: SMTK), Cypress Semiconductor (NYSE: CY), a 19.3% shareholder, said it was determined to explore a potential acquisition of the Company or substantially all of its outstanding equity securities and contacted representatives of the Company to discuss such a transaction.

Cypress said such explorations and discussions could result in a transaction in which Cypress obtains control of the Company through a merger, acquisition of stock or otherwise or could result in a purchase of a division or business of the Company. However, there can be no assurance that any transaction will occur.

Greenbrier (GBX) Soars As Icahn Scoops Up Shares, Recommends Merger With American Railcar (RAIL)

Shares of Greenbrier Companies (NYSE: GBX) have soared 20% intra-day after affiliates of activist investor Carl Icahn discloses a 9.45% stake in the company and said that it is interested in discussing a possible combination of Greenbrier and American Railcar (Nasdaq: ARII), another Icahn holding.

Icahn disclosed the stake in a 13D filing through Longtrain, which is wholly owned by American Railcar. Mr. Icahn beneficially owns approximately 53.7% of the common stock of American Railcar.

The filing showed Longtrain was an aggressive buyer of Greenbrier in January, buying the full 1,530,000 share position from 1/08-1/25 at prices from $17.60 to $19.54 per share.

Shares of American Railcar are up 14%.

Greenbrier has yet to comment on the filing.

Reports Icahn Accumulates Large Stake in J.C. Penney (JCP)

According to reports from WSJ's Deal Journal blog, activist investor Carl Icahn has accumulated a large stake in retailer J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP). A person familiar with the matter said the stake is now among Icahn's top five holdings.

The article said there is no guarantee that Icahn will agitate for changes at the company. If he does, he may suggest the company buy back stock will money raised from borrowing or selling real estate.