Icahn tells Apple to buyback $150 bn worth of stock in company

American businessman and investor Carl Icahn has called on Apple to buyback 150 billion dollars worth of stock in the company.

In his letter addressed to Apple's Chief Executive (CEO) Tim Cook on Thursday, Icahn said he had increased his investment in the tech giant by 22 percent, to 4.7 million shares, and predicted that a buyback would push the stock price up to 1,250 dollars in three years, the Washington Post reports.

The billionaire activist revealed the contents of his letter on his website, the Shareholders' Square Table, which was launched on Thursday.

Icahn said that Apple could finance the buyback with debt, or a mix of debt and cash.

He wrote Apple would be in a good position to finance such a big deal with 147 billion dollars in cash.

Icahn is known for taking large positions in companies and pushing for management change.

He claimed that he has a stake worth around 2 billion dollars in Apple, but he would withhold his own shares from the proposed buyback to invalidate any possible criticism of profiting from the deal.