Reuters – Icahn’s CVR Fails to Attract Offers

CVR Energy Inc., majority owned by investor Carl Icahn, said it did not receive any credible acquisition offers during its 60-day sale process despite contacting more than 30 potential bidders. Icahn, who now owns about 82% of the crude oil refiner after his $30 per-share tender offer secured majority shareholder support, had called for the sale of the company in February citing its vulnerability to volatile refining margins. Then a minority shareholder in CVR, he had named larger refiners Valero Energy Corp, Western Refining Inc , HollyFrontier Corp, Tesoro Corp, Marathon Petroleum Corp and ConocoPhilips as possible buyers.

(Reuters) – CVR Energy Inc, majority owned by investor Carl Icahn, said it did not receive any credible acquisition offers during its 60-day sale process despite contacting more than 30 potential bidders.

Icahn, who now owns about 82 percent of the crude oil refiner after his $30 per-share tender offer secured majority shareholder support, had called for the sale of the company in February citing its vulnerability to volatile refining margins.

Then a minority shareholder in CVR, he had named larger refiners Valero Energy Corp, Western Refining Inc , HollyFrontier Corp, Tesoro Corp, Marathon Petroleum Corp and ConocoPhilips as possible buyers.

He later said selling CVR would not be easy.

CVR said on Thursday its adviser Jefferies & Co reached out to independent refining companies and private equity firms, among other bidders.

However, it did not name the parties and a company spokeswoman could not immediately be reached for comment.

CVR said in its statement that Icahn does not currently intend to seek to sell the company.

Icahn has said that continual shopping of CVR, which operates refining plants in Kansas and Oklahoma with processing capacity of more than 185,000 barrels per day, could be disruptive to its operations.

The company also transports fuels to customers through tanker trucks and pipeline terminals, and has a crude oil gathering system serving Kansas, Oklahoma, western Missouri, southwestern Nebraska and Texas. It also has a stake in fertilizer producer CVR Partners LP.

Shares of Sugar Land, Texas-based CVR have consistently traded below Icahn’s $30-per-share-bid since the company started to look for bidders on May 24. The stock closed at $27.65 on Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange.