Carl Icahn sets his sights on shaking up AmTrust with a damning assessment on the board
Carl Icahn has set his sights on shaking up AmTrust, labelling the board’s actions ‘absurd’.
The billionaire shareholder activist, who put immense pressure on former AIG boss Peter Hancock before he finally quit, has taken a 9.4% stake in AmTrust.
He wants to stop AmTrust board and investors schedule on taking the firm private by buying out minority shareholders.
Icahn will work with AmTrust shareholders angry at the privatisation plans.
AmTrust chief executive Barry Zyskind, director George Karfunkel and his wife, Leah, and Stone Point Capital plan to buy the shares they do not already own.
But Icahn said this was “blatantly taking advantage” of the minority shareholders.
He said the process leading up to the privatisation has been “absurd and devoid of fairness”.
Icahn said board created a voting process for the deal that was “stealthily set,” without telling shareholders or the market.
He claims the board set a deadline of April 5 as the last chance for those buying or holding stock to be included in the privatisation plan - but the market was never told.
It means buyers of stock in April do not have a right to vote on the privatisaion plan vote in June.
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