Carl C. Icahn escalated his proxy fight with the the vehicle maker Oshkosh Corporation on Thursday by offering to take over the company for $32.50 a share, or about $3 billion.
The price represents a 21 percent premium to Oshkosh's closing price on Wednesday. Mr. Icahn, who has a roughly 10 percent stake in Oshkosh, urged shareholders to accept his bid.
Oshkosh's shares rose more than 11 percent on Thursday to trade around $30.
“I strongly believe that Oshkosh needs proactive shareholders to bring a proactive management team together to weather a volatile economy,†Mr. Icahn said in a statement.
“Mismanagement of this company has resulted in a lost decade of shareholder value,†he added.
The tender offer is conditioned on Mr. Icahn's nominees being elected to Oshkosh's board at the next shareholder meeting. If 40.1 percent of shares accept the offer, bringing Mr. Icahn's stake above 50 percent, the investor will seek to reschedule the meeting to a sooner date.
Oshkosh advised shareholders on Thursday to take no action in response to the offer. The board plans to announce its position within 10 business days.
There was speculation on Thursday that Mr. Icahn may look to combine Oshkosh with another truck maker, Navistar International. Mr. Icahn has also been pushing for changes at Navistar, and the company agreed this week to install three of his nominees on its board.
Shareholders of Oshkosh have 45 days to accept Mr. Icahn's offer. But that deadline would likely be extended if the investor gets strong support for his plan.
