P.M. BRIEFING : Icahn Sees Gains in USX Spinoff

Takeover strategist Carl Icahn says spinning off USX Corp.’s steel division would increase shareholders’ returns by about 29%.

The New York financier told stockholders in a letter Tuesday he estimated that shares in a separate energy company would be worth $39 while stock in a steel unit would be worth $9.

USX’s stock closed Tuesday at $37.12 1/2 a share on the New York Stock Exchange.

Icahn, the largest stockholder of USX with 34 million shares or 13.29%, has asked the shareholders for a non-binding vote on a proposal to spin off the steel division and call the new company U.S. Steel. The stockholders will vote on Icahn’s proposal at USX’s annual meeting May 7.

USX has opposed the plan. Executives said it would make U.S. Steel and its Marathon Oil Co. subsidiary more vulnerable to slumps in either the energy or steel industries.