LAKE FOREST, Ill.—An activist shareholder is trying to exert pressure on automotive parts maker Tenneco Inc. to make changes that could include sale of the company.
Daniel Ninivaggi, a former long-time associate of famed corporate raider Carl Icahn, is putting pressure on the Lake Forest-based company, including a demand to replace half the board, sell off portions of the business to raise cash to pay off debt or sell the firm completely, according to a Bloomberg report.
Word of Ninivaggi's moves comes as Tenneco continues to search for a path to divide portions of itself following a 2018 acquisition of Federal-Mogul from Icahn Enterprises L.P.
Icahn and his affiliates own 92 percent of the publicly traded Icahn Enterprises, a holding company invested in a wide variety of industries, including energy, metals and sausage casings.
Icahn Enterprises, received a portion of Tenneco shares through the agreement to sell Federal-Mogul two years ago. But part of that deal also included a "standstill agreement" that effectively puts the company on the sidelines for now.
That agreement, according to paperwork filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, prohibits Icahn Enterprises and affiliates from acquiring additional shares. Icahn Enterprises also agreed to vote in favor of directors nominated and recommended by Tenneco's board during the standstill agreement.
