Icahn Gets OK to Raise 11.4% Holding in USX : Steel Firm’s Stock Rises; Financier’s Plans Unclear

PITTSBURGH —  USX Corp. stock rose Tuesday after an announcement that financier Carl C. Icahn had received federal clearance to increase his 11.4% stake in the steel and oil giant.

Icahn’s intentions were not known, however. He received the same clearance a year ago and apparently did not act on it.

Executives at USX’s headquarters declined to comment on the announcement from the Federal Trade Commission that Icahn had gotten the clearance about a week ago.

Icahn was in a meeting and unavailable to comment on his intentions, according to a secretary at Icahn & Co. in New York.

FTC spokeswoman Susan Ticknor said the agency reported Tuesday in the Federal Register that on Nov. 25 it granted Icahn an early release from restrictions of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act affecting his further purchase of USX stock. The act enables federal regulators to review antitrust implications of major stock purchases.

Scorn From Analyst

Reports of the FTC’s move in early afternoon sent USX stock up $1.25 a share to $29, but it then slipped to close at $28.50.

“I think it’s a lot to do about nothing,” said steel analyst Charles Bradford at the investment firm Merrill Lynch & Co. “One thing is pretty clear, that Icahn’s postion at USX, although it looks better today than it did yesterday . . . it was not one of his better investments.”

Bradford said Icahn bought the stock at $23 or $24 per share.

Icahn will have a year from Nov. 25 to buy additional stock without reapplying for FTC permission, Ticknor said.

Andrew Gray, an oil analyst for the investment firm Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, “Icahn now has more flexibility or apparent flexibility than he had before this release.”

But Icahn has shown little inclination to move against the company since acquiring his shares and threatening in October, 1986, to make a tender offer for USX.

“He showed an extreme amount of patience. I never really believed it would go this long. It’s over two years,” Gray said.