Investors not buying ND law for shareholders

BISMARCK — 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.