Icahn Enterprises Holdings LP (IEP) released a letter last Friday directed at Commercial Metals Company (CMC) shareholders in reference to IEP's tender offer. In the letter, IEP addressed the conference call held with CMC executives on January 6 and asked shareholders to reconsider keeping their shares with CMC. IEP still believes that CMC will not change, stating, "[CMC] wants you to believe that they have a new strategy--but all we see is more of the same, including risky international adventures that have failed to succeed in the past and that we believe will fail in the future. Amazingly, the company has a continued focus on non-core operations that we believe have been so destructive to earnings in the past and that are distracting and damaging to shareholder value."
In the letter, IEP laid out the rules of the tender offer, which expires at midnight on January 10, 2012: "At any time prior to the expiration date of the tender offer (including as it may be extended), you have the power and the choice to reject our offer by withdrawing your shares, allowing you to take advantage of a higher offer if such an offer emerges."
Icahn has also changed his position on withdrawing the offer as he previously stated on January 5, 2012. IEP stated, "If the Board does not conduct a sales process and 40.1 percent of the shares are tendered into the tender offer, we will continue our proxy fight and take the company to court in Delaware to fight for the ability to close the tender offer." Icahn had previously stated that if they had not met the 40.1 percent needed to create a sale process, they would retract the offer.