After Defeat, Icahn Drops Oshkosh Tender Offer
9:26 a.m. | Updated
Carl C. Icahn has waged more than a few battles to control companies in recent months. But on Tuesday, he announced that one of those fights appeared to be over.
After failing to collect at least 25 percent of the Oshkosh Corporation, Mr. Icahn said he was dropping a tender offer for shares in the truck maker. He had offered to pay $ 32.50 a share, a level the company’s stock has not hit since last year.
Mr. Icahn, who already owns about 9.5 percent of the company’s shares, said he would not extend his tender offer if he failed to meet his minimum. By the time his deadline of midnight on Monday night rolled around, he had collected only about 22 percent.
However, Mr. Icahn didn’t mention whether he was also withdrawing an effort to replace Oshkosh’s 13-director board.
He had pressed Oshkosh to take steps that he argued would have improved its stock price, including by spinning off JLG, a maker of construction equipment. But the company argued that Mr. Icahn’s offer was “opportunistic” and “inadequate,” and instead called upon investors to support its homegrown plan, which included spending cuts.
Shares in Oshkosh fell 3.5 percent, to $ 29.05, in premarket trading on Tuesday.