Carl Icahn Goes After Clorox (CLX)

If any activist investor is able to rattle a public company, it is Carl Icahn.   He just disclosed that he owns 9% of Clorox Corporation (NYSE: CLX) totaling 12.5 million shares of common stock worth about $322 million. The Icahn filing declared the reason for the transaction was due to the shares being undervalued.

He  supports Clorox’s plan to buy back between 10 and 11 million shares by year-end but the filing also shows that the Icahn group may seek “to have conversations with management of the Issuer from time to time to  discuss  the  Issuer’s  business.”

Icahn’s group also may acquire additional shares and/or other equity, debt, notes, instruments, or other securities in the open market or otherwise AND also reserves the right to dispose of all or any portion of the securities.

These acquisitions began in December and some have been purchased as recently as today.  Entities in this filing include:

• High River Limited Partnership
• Hopper  Investments LLC’
• Barberry Corp.
• Icahn Partners Master Fund LP
• Icahn Partners Master Fund II LP
• Icahn  Partners Master Fund III LP
• Icahn  Offshore  LP
• Icahn Partners LP
• Icahn  Onshore  LP
• Icahn Capital LP
• IPH GP LLC
• Icahn  Enterprises Holdings L.P.
• Icahn Enterprises G.P. Inc.
• Beckton Corp.
• and Carl C. Icahn.

Clorox shares are now up 6.6% at $70.71 and shares hit a new 52-week high of $71.10 today right after the news.

JON C. OGG