One week ago, Caterpillar Inc. was being praised by President Donald Trump for producing great bulldozers. “I love Caterpillar," Trump told company Chairman Doug Oberhelman at a meeting of manufacturing heads at the White House. On Thursday, officials from the Commerce Department, Internal Revenue Service, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Illinois State Police moved in and out of the company’s corporate headquarters in Peoria, Illinois, in a raid seeking evidence related to exports and a Swiss subsidiary as part of a criminal probe.
Bloomberg News obtained copies of three related search warrants, signed Feb. 24 by U.S. Judge Harold Baker, that authorized seizure of a broad range of documents and electronic files related to Caterpillar’s Swiss affiliate, CSARL. Authorities, the warrants said, sought evidence related to potential crimes, including “failure to file or submitting false electronic export information” and “false and misleading financial reports and statements.”
Caterpillar shares fell after the raid, losing 4.3 percent to $94.36 in New York on Thursday, the biggest decline since June. The maker of mining and construction equipment had been soaring since Trump’s election, buoyed by the promise of $1 trillion in U.S. infrastructure spending. A swelling market for machinery is just what the company needed, after hitting a slowdown in demand that came on the heels of billions of dollars of overseas acquisitions.
The shares were up 1.3 percent at 9:47 a.m. in New York Friday as analysts at Jefferies and Wells Fargo said the case probably wouldn’t hurt longer term earnings prospects.
The massive search Thursday included corporate headquarters as well as an office in East Peoria and a facility in Morton, Illinois, that receives and ships replacement parts to dealers globally. It comes just months after Oberhelman stepped aside as chief executive officer, leaving operations in the hands of company veteran Jim Umpleby.
Caterpillar, which traces its roots back 125 years, has long fought government allegations that it owed taxes on profits from parts shipments involving its Caterpillar SARL unit, which is based in Geneva. In a filing last month, Caterpillar said it is “vigorously contesting the proposed increases to tax and penalties” of about $2 billion.
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Poster Comment:
Leftovers from der Shwartzenfuhrer admin taking another parting shot?