Navistar makes public offering of about 10M shares

LISLE, Ill. -- Navistar is making a public offering of about 10 million shares of its stock.

The heavy truck and engine company said Wednesday that it is giving the underwriters a 30-day option to buy up to 1.5 million shares.

Earlier this month Navistar International Corp. added a colleague of activist investor Carl Icahn and a former protege of his to its board in order to head off a proxy war. Vincent Intrieri works for Icahn Capital LP, while Mark Rachesky runs MHR Fund Management LLC. Icahn and MHR both hold nearly 15 percent stakes in the company.

And last week Navistar named John Pope, chairman of PFI Group LLC, to its board to replace the retiring David Harrison. The board's total remains at 10 members.

Shares in the company, based in Lisle, Ill., fell 43 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $19.06 in morning trading. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $18.47 to $48.18.