Icahn Company Setting Up Corporate Residence In ND

DALE WETZEL

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Billionaire investor Carl Icahn has found a new corporate home for a railroad car manufacturer he controls — in North Dakota.

Stockholders of American Railcar Industries Inc., a St. Charles, Mo.-based company, voted on Wednesday to change the company's incorporation from Delaware to North Dakota. It will be the first business to take advantage of a North Dakota law, approved by the state Legislature two years ago, that requires companies to make it easier for shareholders to challenge management.

However, stockholders of at least 15 companies, from Exxon Mobil to Whole Foods Market, haven't been willing to make the switch. Most of these shareholders prefer incorporation in Delaware, which has attracted the most companies because of the state's hospitable laws and a court system that specializes in resolving business disputes.

Shareholders of Continental Airlines Inc. and office-supply company Staples Inc. this week defeated proposals to reincorporate in North Dakota. American International Group Inc., the financially troubled insurer, and The Pep Boys-Manny, Moe & Jack, an auto parts and repair company, will decide the question later this month.

In at least seven instances, the defeated idea drew support from at least 3 percent of the voting shareholders, which is enough to allow its advocates to submit the proposal for a second vote next year.