Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) disclosed in an 8-K filing with the SEC today that billionaire investor Carl Icahn had purchased $200 million worth of shares in a private placement deal with the company. The deal comes as the company has been facing problems executing its restructing plans in an effort to improve their fundamentals. Investors applauded the help, as the stock rose nearly 15% in intaday trading.

According to the filing:

"On October 17, 2006, Lear Corporation ('Lear') entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement (the 'Purchase Agreement') with Icahn Partners LP, Icahn Partners Master Fund LP and Koala Holding LLC (collectively, the 'Icahn Stockholders') pursuant to which Lear agreed to issue and sell to the Icahn Stockholders 8,695,653 shares of Lear’s common stock (the 'Common Stock') at a price per share of $23.00, for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $200,000,000 (the 'Offering'). Certain of the Icahn Stockholders are current stockholders of Lear."

Carl Icahn is well known for his activist approach to enforcing change within companies - most recently ImClone Systems (IMCL). Although investors clearly welcome his help, analysts remain divided with some calling this an opportunity to "aggressively" sell any open positions. Lear's stock is down from over $60 per share in 2004 to its current levels around $25 per share. Although undervalued as an asset play, the company is strugging with declining margins and a weak backlog. If Icahn can help the company successfully execute its restructuring, it could add a lot of value to this stock. It is definitely one worth watching.

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