Icahn Amasses Stake in Rail Car Company

First, Motorola, then Time Warner, and now Greenbrier Cos. Carl Icahn, one of the most ubiquitous activist investors in recent weeks, has amassed a 9.5-percent stake in the Oregon rail car manufacturer, according to a filing yesterday with the Securities and Exchange Commission as reported by Bloomberg.

Icahn reported owning 1.5 million shares of the Lake Oswego, Ore.-based company, whose shares climbed more than 20 percent after the filing.

Icahn acquired the stake through ARI Longtrain Inc., whose sole stockholder is American Railcar Industries, which manufactures and services railcars. Icahn beneficially owns 53.7 percent of the common stock of American Railcar.

According to the filing, Icahn believes Greenbrier shares are undervalued and is interested in discussing with management a possible business combination between American Railcar and Greenbrier.

Greenbrier said in a statement regarding Icahn's move that its board is "committed to acting in the best interests of Greenbrier shareholders and other constituencies" and issued no further comment.

Last week, the company announced that it will buy American Allied Railway Equipment Co. and its subsidiaries for $83 million in cash.

Icahn is an activist shareholder who led a successful fight to win a seat on the board of movie-rental giant Blockbuster, whose chairman and chief executive left soon afterward.

He has also pushed for changes in recent years as a shareholder at other companies, including Time Warner Inc. and Motorola Inc. On Friday, he named four nominees for seats on the board at Motorola, where he lost a proxy fight last year.