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Carl Icahn offers to buy Clorox in $10.2 billion deal


    (Reuters) - Billionaire investor Carl Icahn offered to buy Clorox Co in a $10.2 billion deal, but also invited the household products maker to hold a "go shop" sale, which he said should yield a higher bid for the company.

    Icahn's $76.50 per share offer represents an 11 percent premium to the stock's Thursday closing on the New York Stock Exchange.

    The activist investor, who said he has already arranged for $7.8 billion in financing through Jefferies & Co, offered to pay a $100 million break-up fee if he is unable to close the transaction, provided Clorox agrees to the deal by July 29.

    In a filing with U.S. regulators, Icahn said he had sent a letter with the acquisition proposal to Clorox's Chief Executive Donald Knauss.

    In the letter, Icahn said he beneficially owned 9.4 percent of the outstanding shares of Clorox common stock and is its largest shareholder.

    Icahn originally announced a significant stake in the company in February, when he described the stock as undervalued.

    (Reporting by Vidya L Nathan in Bangalore; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)