Another Icahn Defeat, Probably Not the Last

First Motorola, now Lear. How much rejection can one rich man take?

A lot, apparently.

The billionaire corporate raider Carl Icahn failed to win over the shareholders of Lear Corp. with his $2.9 billion buyout offer. The large maker of automobile seats announced at its shareholder meeting today that it failed to get approval from a majority of its shareholders, even though the board favored the offer.

In May, Icahn lost his bid for a seat on the board of Motorola after shareholders rejected him. Shares of the cancer drugmaker Telik have been cut by nearly half since Icahn made his 9.2 percent stake in it earlier this year. The homebuilder WCI Communities recently rejected his $961 takeover offer. Icahn sold off a big chunk of his Time Warner shares after losing a very public battle to break up the media giant last year.

His recent successes (pressuring MedImmune to sell itself is among the biggest) seem to be enough to keep the 71-year old from retirement. His next two targets are Samsung and Kraft, and neither is likely to roll over at Icahn's command.

Meanwhile, the victorious Lear shareholders may still have a fight on their hands. The dissident group of investors who defeated Icahn believes the company and its shares have a bright future, but now they are stuck holding shares in a company whose C.E.O. is decidedly less optimistic.

"There is an optimism out there by the shareholders that the tough times are all behind us,'' Chief Executive Officer Robert Rossiter said at the meeting. "I hope they are right, believe me, but I really think there are some bumps in the road ahead.''

Not exactly the kind of enthusiasm a shareholder wants to see.

by Megan Barnett