Carl C. Icahn, who owns 82 percent of CVR Energy, said on Tuesday that he was dropping an offer to take the Texas refiner private, citing changing market conditions.
The activist investor had approached the board on Aug. 6 with an offer to buy the rest of the company that he did not already own for at least $29 a share, but no more than $30. But since then, Mr. Icahn said in a letter on Tuesday, “a number of market conditions have changed, including a significant widening of crack spreads.†Crack spreads refer to the profit margins in the difference between the price of crude oil and the petroleum products produced.
“We no longer think that the proposed transaction is feasible at this time and we hereby withdraw it,†he wrote.
Mr. Icahn pushed CVR to put itself up for sale when he first approached the company in January. But an auction held by the company ended last month with no credible offers even after the its investment bank, Jefferies & Company, had approached more than 30 potential bidders.
The investor won control of the company last spring by offering shareholders $30 a share.
