Sept 16 (Reuters) - Carl Icahn said on Monday he was

pleased a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit accusing the

billionaire of defrauding shareholders of his investment company

Icahn Enterprises ( IEP ) so he could obtain large amounts of

personal loans.

The lawsuit followed a May 2023 report by the short-selling

firm Hindenburg Research that questioned whether Icahn's company

inflated its share price by paying out excessive shareholder

dividends, enabling Icahn's borrowing. Hindenburg also accused

Icahn of overseeing a "Ponzi-like economic structure."

Icahn owns 85% of his namesake company, and has lost many

billions of dollars because its stock price has fallen by more

than three-quarters since the Hindenburg report, touching a more

than 20-year low last week.

But in a decision on Friday, U.S. District Judge K. Michael

Moore in Miami said Icahn Enterprises ( IEP ) sufficiently disclosed its

risks to shareholders. The judge also said evidence suggested

that Icahn "believed in the long-term value" of his company.

Icahn Enterprises ( IEP ) called the lawsuit "meritless," and Icahn

said in a statement: "We are pleased that the spurious claims of

various unscrupulous characters, working together in a

coordinated and clandestine network, have been debunked."

The 88-year-old Icahn also said he is "absolutely not

selling" Icahn Enterprises ( IEP ) shares, denying contrary claims he

said were in media reports.

Lawyers for the shareholders did not respond to requests for

comment on Friday after the decision, and to further requests

for comment on Monday.

Last month, Icahn and his company agreed without admitting

wrongdoing to pay $2 million in civil fines to settle U.S.

Securities and Exchange Commission charges he did not disclose

pledging large quantities of shares as collateral for his loans.

Icahn's fortune far exceeded $10 billion for many years, and

is now $4.9 billion according to Forbes magazine.

The case is Kosowsky v Icahn Enterprises LP ( IEP ) et al, U.S.

District Court, Southern District of Florida, No. 23-21773.