Icahn bids on Clorox

Icahn Makes $10.2 Billion Clorox Bid to Flush Out Suitors

Excerpt:

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn offered to buy Clorox Co. (CLX), the maker of the namesake bleach, for about $10.2 billion in a move designed to flush out other potential bidders.

Icahn, the company’s largest investor with a 9.4 percent stake, offered to pay $76.50 a share, a 12 percent premium to yesterday’s closing price in New York, according to a filing released today. Including debt, the transaction values Clorox at about $12.6 billion, Icahn said in the filing.

Icahn also urged the Oakland, California-based company to seek offers from other bidders, that could generate savings from a merger. In a letter sent yesterday to Clorox Chief Executive Officer Donald Knauss, the investor said he’s confident that there would be “numerous superior bids” for the company. Possible “strategic buyers” include Procter and Gamble Co., Unilever and Colgate-Palmolive Co., according to the letter.

Comment: A stock in my portfolio. Clorox was at one time owned by P & G: "In 1957, Clorox was bought by Procter & Gamble, a purchase that was challenged by the Federal Trade Commission, which feared it would stifle competition in the household products market. The FTC won, and in 1969, Clorox again was made independent."