Icahn Enterprises seeks to boost stake in refiner CVR Energy
Updates shares, adds analyst comments in paragraphs 6 and 8
By Sourasis Bose and Vallari Srivastava
Nov 8 (Reuters) -Icahn Enterprises IEP.O, headed by billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn, said on Friday it has submitted a proposal to boost its stake in Texas-based refiner CVR Energy CVI.N to 81.3%.
The investment company, which already owns about 66.3% of CVR Energy, said it wants to buy 15 million additional shares in the refining firm for $17.50 per share.
The proposed purchase price represents nearly a 6% premium to CVR's closing price on Thursday.
Shares of CVR rose more than 10% to $18.03 in morning trading following the offer.
"CVR's shares are undervalued in the market and represent an attractive investment opportunity," Icahn Enterprises said in a statement.
The offer could provide a floor under (CVR's) stock in times of weak refining profitability, Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co analyst Matthew Blair said.
CVR Energy operates a 115,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Coffeyville refinery in Kansas and a 75,000-bpd Wynnewood facility in Oklahoma.
But Blair believes the 6% premium does not provide much upside to investors and the offer could make an "illiquid stock even more illiquid", suggesting that CVR's shares are high risk and cannot be sold without a substantial loss in value.
Shares of Icahn Enterprises fell nearly 7% in morning trade.
Separately, Icahn's firm said it will cut its dividend by half to 50 cents per share to fund the CVR deal as well as other investment opportunities.
This marks the second time the company cut its payout since short-seller Hindenburg Research began shorting IEP's bonds last year.
The Icahn-CVR news was first reported by the Wall Street Journal on Thursday.
Reporting by Sourasis Bose and Vallari Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli
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