Icahn takes another $20.8 million loss from WCI

NEW YORK, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn on Friday announced yet another loss taken on WCI Communities Inc (WCIMQ.PK), the Florida-based luxury builder that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in August.

In forms filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Icahn disclosed a payment of $20.8 million to resolve a swap in which another party bought about 5.4 million WCI shares with the agreement that Icahn would later buy them himself.

When the other party bought the shares, they cost $3.83 per share but they were ultimately worthless, so Icahn ended up "on the hook," said Ben Silverman of filing tracking site InsiderScore.com.

Icahn also likely paid interest on the stock before he bought it, Silverman said.

As of June 30, Icahn, who was elected chairman of WCI's board in 2007, owned about 14.5 percent of the company, or 6.1 million shares, according to Reuters data. He bought his original stake in the company in early 2007 for about $19 per share.

At the time he was elected chairman, Icahn said, "Despite the rough road ahead, I believe in the long-term value of the company and view the WCI platform as a unique vehicle to take advantage of the current market disarray."

(Reporting by Helen Chernikoff)