With an offer some analysts call too low, investor Carl Icahn is making a new attempt to buy Oshkosh Corp., the state’s largest manufacturer – this time for $32.50 per share, according to a report in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The latest proposal, Icahn’s second attempt to buy Oshkosh Corp., values the Wisconsin company at about $3 billion. Icahn, who has been critical of company management, plans to nominate a slate of directors for election to the Oshkosh board of directors. The offer is conditional on his directors being elected.
In a failed attempt to take control of the company last year, Icahn nominated six business associates to the board. Icahn, who controls about 10% of the company’s stock, released a statement repeating past critique’s of Oshkosh management.
“It is clear to me that management has taken a passive attitude to the future of this company, willing to sit back and watch what happens to the defense, housing and construction industries, hoping for a positive outcome and reduced competition,” he stated.
Oshkosh Corp. issued a statement urging shareholders to take no action pending a review of what it characterized an unsolicited tender offer by the Oshkosh board.
Analyst Charles Brady, senior equity analyst at BMO Capital Markets, told the Journal Sentinel that Oshkosh Corp. is worth closer to $37 or $38 per share.
