UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 

SCHEDULE 14A

 

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O S H K O S H     C O R P O R A T I O N

 

F O R   I M M E D I A T E   R E L E A S E

 

 

OSHKOSH CORPORATION COMMENTS ON EXPIRATION OF

CARL ICAHN’S TENDER OFFER

 

OSHKOSH, Wis. (December 4, 2012) – Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE: OSK), a leading manufacturer of specialty vehicles and vehicle bodies, today issued the following statement in response to the press release Carl Icahn issued earlier today announcing the expiration of his unsolicited tender offer after failing to meet his 25% tender threshold:

 

The Board and management team thank shareholders for their continued support.  We remain focused on continuing to successfully execute the Company’s MOVE strategy and on generating substantial value for our shareholders.

 

Mr. Icahn pledged to shareholders in a press release on November 29, 2012, that “if we do not receive tenders of at least 25% of the outstanding shares by the expiration of the offer on December 3rd, we will respect the shareholders’ wishes, drop our tender offer and proxy fight and move on to other endeavors.”  Given today’s tender results, Oshkosh looks forward to moving ahead without the unnecessary expense and distraction of a proxy contest.

 

Goldman, Sachs & Co. is serving as financial advisor and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Foley & Lardner LLP are serving as legal advisors to the Company.

 

About Oshkosh Corporation

 

Oshkosh Corporation is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of a broad range of specialty access equipment, commercial, fire & emergency and military vehicles and vehicle bodies. Oshkosh Corporation manufactures, distributes and services products under the brands of Oshkosh®, JLG®, Pierce®, McNeilus®, Jerr-Dan®, Frontline™, CON-E-CO®, London® and IMT®. Oshkosh products are valued worldwide in businesses where high quality, superior performance, rugged reliability and long-term value are paramount. For more information, log on to www.oshkoshcorporation.com.

 

®, TM All brand names referred to in this news release are trademarks of Oshkosh Corporation or its subsidiary companies.

 

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

 

This communication contains statements that the Company believes to be “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact, including, without limitation, statements regarding the Company’s future financial position, business strategy, targets, projected sales, costs, earnings, capital expenditures, debt levels and cash flows, and plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. When used in this communication, words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “should,” “project” or “plan” or the negative thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. These

 

 

forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors, some of which are beyond the Company’s control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors include the cyclical nature of the Company’s access equipment, commercial and fire & emergency markets, especially in the current environment where there are conflicting signs regarding the future global economic outlook; the expected level and timing of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) procurement of products and services and funding thereof; risks related to reductions in government expenditures in light of U.S. defense budget pressures and an uncertain DoD tactical wheeled vehicle strategy; the ability to increase prices to raise margins or offset higher input costs; increasing commodity and other raw material costs, particularly in a sustained economic recovery; risks related to the Company’s exit from its ambulance business, including the amounts of related costs and charges; risks related to facilities consolidation and alignment, including the amounts of related costs and charges and that anticipated cost savings may not be achieved; the duration of the ongoing global economic weakness, which could lead to additional impairment charges related to many of the Company’s intangible assets and/or a slower recovery in the Company’s cyclical businesses than Company or equity market expectations; the potential for the U.S. government to competitively bid the Company’s Army and Marine Corps contracts; risks related to the collectability of receivables, particularly for those businesses with exposure to construction markets; the cost of any warranty campaigns related to the Company’s products; risks related to production or shipment delays arising from quality or production issues; risks associated with international operations and sales, including foreign currency fluctuations and compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act; risks related to actions of activist shareholders, including the amount of related costs and the Company’s ability to successfully execute on its strategic road map and meet its long-term financial goals. Additional information concerning these and other factors is contained in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this communication. The Company assumes no obligation, and disclaims any obligation, to update information contained in this communication. Investors should be aware that the Company may not update such information until the Company’s next quarterly earnings conference call, if at all.

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND WHERE TO FIND IT

 

The Company, its directors and certain of its executive officers and employees may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from shareholders in connection with the Company’s 2013 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the “2013 Annual Meeting”). On November 19, 2012, the Company filed a preliminary proxy statement with the SEC in connection with the solicitation of proxies for the 2013 Annual Meeting.  Prior to the 2013 Annual Meeting, the Company will furnish a definitive proxy statement to its shareholders (the “2013 Proxy Statement”), together with a WHITE proxy card.    SHAREHOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE 2013 PROXY STATEMENT (INCLUDING ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS THERETO) AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS THAT THE COMPANY WILL FILE WITH THE SEC WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Additional information regarding the identity of these potential participants and their direct or indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, is set forth in the preliminary proxy statement for the 2013 Annual Meeting and will be set forth in the 2013 Proxy Statement and other materials to be filed with the SEC in connection with the 2013 Annual Meeting.

 

Shareholders will be able to obtain, free of charge, copies of the 2013 Proxy Statement and any other documents (including the WHITE proxy card) filed by the Company with the SEC in connection with the 2013 Annual Meeting at the SEC’s website (http://www.sec.gov), at the Company’s website (http://www.oshkoshcorporation.com) or by writing to Ms. Margaret Wacholtz, Oshkosh Corporation, P.O. Box 2566, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, 54903-2566. In addition, copies of the proxy materials, when available, may be requested from the Company’s proxy solicitor, Innisfree M&A Incorporated, 501 Madison Avenue, 20th Floor, New York, NY 10022 or toll-free at (877) 750-9499.

 

 

# # #

 

Contacts:

 

Media Relations:

John Daggett, Oshkosh

Vice President, Communications

(920) 233-9247

 

Dan Katcher / Matt Sherman / Nick Lamplough

Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher

(212) 355-4449

 

Investor Relations:

Patrick Davidson, Oshkosh
Vice President, Investor Relations
(920) 966-5939