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Tenneco buys Icahn's Federal-Mogul in deal worth $5.4B

Billionaire Carl Icahn plans to sell car-parts maker Federal-Mogul to Lake Forest-based competitor Tenneco, which will then split into two companies to better compete in the shifting transportation space.

The deal is valued at $5.4 billion, including an $800 million cash payment and 29.5 million shares of Tenneco, the companies said Tuesday in a statement. Tenneco will divide itself into two publicly traded companies in a spinoff, with one specializing in powertrain technology and the other in auto parts. Tenneco shares climbed as much as 8.4 percent, the biggest intraday jump since April 2016.

The sale marks the latest shift in a car-parts industry that's reorganizing as automakers prepare for an era of battery-powered and eventually driverless vehicles. Icahn made a move last year to sell Federal-Mogul's Fel-Pro engine-parts unit, a business it's owned since 1998. Tenneco was among suitors for some businesses of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles's Magneti Marelli components division as the Italian-American manufacturer prepared to spin off that unit.

The Federal-Mogul acquisition is expected to close in the second half of 2018, subject to approvals, with the Tenneco split to take place in the second half of 2019.

Icahn took Southfield, Michigan-based Federal-Mogul private last January. The investor has acquired a collection of transportation-related assets - including auto repair and supplier companies, a small stake in ride-sharing operator Lyft and a controlling position in rental-car provider Hertz Global Holdings - as he expects Americans increasingly to use vehicles jointly or just for short periods instead of own them.

"Icahn Enterprises acquired majority control of Federal-Mogul in 2008 when we saw an out-of-favor market opportunity for a great company. During that time, we have built one of the leading global suppliers of automotive products," Icahn said in the statement. "I am very proud of the business we have built at Federal-Mogul and agree with Tenneco regarding the tremendous value in the business combination and separation into two companies."

A spokesman for Icahn Automotive did not immediately reply to a request for comment on what the unit sale means for the billionaire's parts and repair business.

Tenneco is taking after several peers by splitting itself up. Aptiv and Delphi Technologies formed as a result of the former Delphi Automotive breaking up last year. Autoliv, the Swedish-American air bag and seat belt maker, is spinning off its driverless-electronics business, and Germany's Continental is considering a shake-up of its structure.

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