Love him or hate him, investor Carl Icahn may be in control of Dell by Thursday if Dell CEO Michael Dell is unsuccessful with his $24.4 billion leveraged buyout plan.

Icahn has been both vilified and praised for his ruthless business savvy in industry circles. He is famous for taking large stakes in companies, ousting the CEO and shaking up the board of directors.

Now his sights are set on Dell. Wednesday shareholders will vote to either back Michael Dell's vision of slow-growth transformation into a business software and services firm or Icahn's plan. For the record, Icahn won't say what he will do with Dell if given the opportunity except oust CEO Michael Dell and replace the company's board.

Icahn's track record of taking on tech companies is a mixed bag. Here is a look at seven of his past high-profile corporate takeovers.