Activist investor Carl Icahn withdrew his offer to buy the
remaining shares of petroleum company CVR Energy Inc. (CVI), ending
his bid to take the company private, according to a Securities and
Exchange Commission filing.
Shares sank 2% after hours to $28.95, though the stock as of
Tuesday's close was up 58% so far this year.
Mr. Icahn had offered to pay from about $29 to $30 per remaining
share, but, in a letter to the company's board, said he was pulling
the offer since "a number of market conditions have changed,"
including significantly widening of crack spreads.
Mr. Icahn earlier this year bought an 80% stake of the
Sugarland, Texas, company at $30 a share with plans to immediately
resell the entire business for at least $35 a share. Despite hefty
refining margins at the company's Midwestern plants in the past few
quarters, analysts predicted that the price tag would attract few
buyers.
The company, which operates refineries in Oklahoma and Kansas,
recently failed to identify an acquirer and said Mr. Icahn no
longer intended to sell the company.
This month, CVR said its second-quarter profit rose 24%, as the
company's revenue increased more than expected.
Write to Ben Fox Rubin at ben.rubin@dowjones.com
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