Icahn increases Mentor Graphics stake
The battle between Carl Icahn and Mentor Graphics Corp. intensified Friday, as the activist investor increased his stake in the firm by 14 percent.
The acquisition puts Icahn on the verge of triggering a poison pill adopted by the company last month to prevent a takeover.
Icahn has spent nearly $95.4 million to gain a 14.13 percent of the Wilsonville-based firm (NASDAQ: MENT), according a filing Friday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Mentor, a maker of tools used in designing microchips, in June adopted a poison pill provision — designed to make a target less attractive and more expensive to a potential acquirer — largely in response to Icahn’s continued purchase of shares.
Under the plan, once someone acquires a 15 percent stake, Mentor will distribute additional shares at a 50 percent discount to shareholders of record as of July 6.
Whomever triggers the poison pill, in this case Icahn, however, is not eligible to buy the discounted shares.
The provision would also be triggered if an existing stockholder with a 15 percent share acquires more without board approval.
Icahn first disclosed a 6.9 percent stake in May, saying he planned to seek a meeting with management to discuss how to maximize shareholder value.
In June, Icahn disclosed in a regulatory filing that he met with the Wilsonville-based company, but neither Icahn nor Mentor have commented on the meeting.
Mentor shares closed Friday up 7 cents, or less than 1 percent, to $9.62. Shares have traded between $6.59 and $9.95 in the past 52 weeks.