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Icahn Draws Line On Oshkosh Offer

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn said he will walk away from his bid to buy truck maker Oshkosh if at least 25 percent of the company's shares aren't tendered before his offer for them is set to expire on Monday. Icahn, who is known for buying stakes in struggling companies and then shaking them up with mixed results, maintains that Oshkosh needs new management and a new strategy.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Billionaire investor Carl Icahn said Thursday that he will walk away from his bid to buy truck maker Oshkosh Corp. if at least 25 percent of the company's shares aren't tendered before his offer for them is set to expire on Monday.

Icahn, who is known for buying stakes in struggling companies and then shaking them up with mixed results, maintains that Oshkosh needs new management and a new strategy. But he said that if he doesn't get at least 25 percent of the shares by Monday, he will drop out of the tender offer and proxy fight for seats on the board and "move on to other endeavors."

The investor said in a statement that said the 25 percent level would show that he has enough support for his plans and would justify the extension of the $32.50 per share tender offer until the Wisconsin-based company holds its upcoming annual shareholder meeting. That is when Icahn will find out if his bid to get his nominees on its board was successful.

Icahn said that if his slate of nominees were elected, he expects the board to lift the company's shareholder rights plan and remove other obstacles preventing the tender offer from closing. The plans, known as "poison pills," are designed to protect the rights of existing shareholders in the event of a hostile takeover.

Oshkosh released a statement Thursday saying that it still recommends that shareholders reject Icahn's offer calling it "highly conditional, inadequate and opportunistic."

Oshkosh shares fell 98 cents, or 3.2 percent, to $30.44 in afternoon trading. Its shares peaked for the year at $31.65 last Friday. They traded as low as $18.49 in June.

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