The war of words between eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) and activist investor and billionaire Carl Icahn is heating up. eBay’s message in the headline was simply “Stick to the Facts, Carl.”

When you see this take place and when you consider Carl Icahn’s history in dealing with companies, this is nothing less of a situation that will not go away. eBay’s response said,

“Carl Icahn doesn’t let the truth get in the way of a good story. And while his letters and media interviews may be entertaining, they are not factually accurate. In fact, Mr. Icahn seems to be deliberately disseminating claims that are dead wrong. The claims against Mr. Cook and Mr. Andreessen, in particular, are blatantly false. We challenge Mr. Icahn to end his own charade with our shareholders. Let s focus on honest, accurate debate…. “

eBay went on show the Skype details, how Marc Andreessen recused himself from all deliberations on this transaction, and more.

This response may not seem like much on the surface, but if Icahn’s history is a guide then it seems likely that he will go out and acquire more shares. He will also likely use the media to help to get shareholders to see his way as well. In the end, eBay shareholders today will likely win even if Carl Icahn does not fully get his way with a PayPal spin-off.

eBay is likely to keep PayPal inside its empire. Maybe the company will ultimately get around to paying a dividend and taking other shareholder-friendly actions.

To prove a point, eBay shares are up another 2.5% at $57.55 in mid-Wednesday trading against a 52-week range of $48.06 to $58.04.

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