Carl Icahn shopping for shares of Federated

Carl Icahn has made billions agitating corporate managements. Some of his targets include Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), Blockbuster and ImClone.

Now, he is now focusing on Federated Department Stores (NYSE: FD). He wants to buy as much as $500 million of the company's stock.

Icahn already has a stake in the company, although it is a minor 2.1 million shares. This amounts to about $86.6 million. Keep in mind that Federated has a market cap of $23 billion.

Federated certainly has strong assets; that is, Macy's and Bloomingdale's. What's more, Wall Street has been buying up shares. This year, the stock price has gone from about $33 to $43.

What's Icahn up to? Well, he may be trying the same approach that Eddie Lampert has with Sears Holdings. In other words, Icahn may want to get Federated to maximize its real estate holdings, which could unlock more shareholder value.

Or, he just might think Federated is a good investment.

Basically, it's mostly speculation right now. But, given Icahn's history, he definitely has a plan to make money. And, he is probably not going to sit still.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and operates InvestorOffering.com.