Mexican Billionaire Increases Ownership Stake in Saks
Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helu has increased
his stake in Saks Fifth Avenue. Helu wants to own 20% of the stock of Saks, Inc., but the company's poison pill plan kicked in, which gives other shareholders that chance to buy stock when any one shareholder is about to reach a 20% ownership position.
Slim Helú, through his investment trust Inmobiliaria Carso, acquired another 300,000 shares of Saks on Jan. 23 at prices ranging from $2.30 to $2.56 a share, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This boosted his holdings to 25.55 million shares, or 18 percent of the 142.1 million shares outstanding. The investment was just over $700,000, or an average of $2.34 a share.
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Days after Slim Helu's November purchase, Saks enacted its poison pill plan, which becomes effective when a single investor acquires 20 percent or more of the luxury retailer's stock. The plan gave each shareholder a preferred share purchase right that can be exercised if a person or group picks up more than one-fifth of the company's shares. All shareholders but the acquiring party then would be allowed to purchase a number of Saks' common shares that have a market value of twice that of the exercise price, thereby diluting the acquirer's position.
Carlos has bought and sold shares in Saks for years: reports say he determined to become a very large shareholder in the company. Forbes lists him as the second richest man in the world, ahead of Bill Gates, and just after Warren Buffett. He is known more for his interest in telecommunications, but recently has expanded his U.S. holdings in retail and media.
Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helu has 
