When Icahn bought into USX Corp. back in 1986, he aimed to force the Pittsburgh-based descendant of U.S. Steel Corp. to spin off its steel business and concentrate on its profitable Marathon Oil Co. unit. USX finally agreed in January to divide its stock into two parts, one with claims on energy profits and the other tied to steel. But the price jump Icahn expected never came. Icahn’s stock, bought for an average of $24 a share, was unloaded at a modest 25 percent profit. Icahn could have earned twice as much by betting on a stock-market index.
The 55-year-old financier needs the cash now. TWA is all but broke, and defaulted on $203 million of payments to creditors. On Wednesday, the airline offered to buy back some of its bonds at 17.5 cents on the dollar. That, Icahn claimed, would cause him a personal loss of $40 million. But it would also set the stage for him to sell out before his shares in the shrinking airline are worth even less.
