Commercial Metals Company Adopts Stockholder Rights Plan as Icahn Accumulates Shares

Commercial Metals Company CMC today announced that its Board of Directors has adopted a Stockholder Rights Plan with a 10 percent threshold. Stockholders with existing positions over 10 percent will be grandfathered as described below. The Plan is intended to enable all stockholders to realize the long-term value of their investment in the company and protect them from unfair or coercive takeover attempts. The Plan is intended to provide the Board with sufficient time to consider any and all alternatives to such an action and does not prevent the Board from considering or accepting an offer, if the Board believes such action is fair, advisable and in the best interests of its stockholders. CMC's Board said in a statement, "We have adopted this Stockholder Rights Plan following Carl Icahn's sudden and rapid ownership increase in CMC, his aggressive use of derivatives which obscures the rate of his increase, and a call to the company from one of Mr. Icahn's representatives who indicated Mr. Icahn's intention to continue accumulating CMC stock. We understand from Mr. Icahn's representative that Mr. Icahn will not be available to meet with the company until September. The company intends to meet with Mr. Icahn at that time to understand in more detail his interest in CMC."