Carl Icahn aims both barrels at CIT's board

Billionaire financier Carl Icahn pulled no punches on Monday in a scathing open letter to the board of CIT Group (CIT). The foundering century-old lender "shamelessly" offered to sell big bondholders $6 billion in loans to the company at "well below fair market value," all to the detriment of smaller investors, Icahn alleged.

To the feared corporate raider and distressed-debt investor, it's the last in a long line of perceived insults by CIT's board. And paving the way for their removal, it would appear, is one of the main motivations behind his offer to extend his own $6 billion loan that he says would be cheaper and come with fewer strings attached.