Carl Icahn's bid to restructure mini-studio Lionsgate reached a new pitch today, as he brought the fight to the public with a warning to get out while the getting's good.
The Wall Street Journal says Icahn has offered a $7-a-share tender agreement to other shareholders through this Wednesday, in a move to buy up as many shares as possible. "I firmly believe that after the expiration of my tender offer -- which will not be extended -- the price that Lionsgate will trade at will be lower than $7 per share," said Icahn, as the June 30 deadline on his buyout offer approached. Vancouver-based Lionsgate joined the Russel 2000 index on Friday, and enjoyed a brief buying spurt before a drop of 12 cents a share today on the New York Stock Exchange.
This Svengali-like tactic is the latest in a public and at times ugly war between Lionsgate execs and Icahn, who maintains activist shareholder status in the company. Lionsgate has warned shareholders to be wary of Icahn's hit-and-miss business track record, while also calling out the fact that he sits on Blockbuster's board as a major conflict of interest. Meanwhile, Icahn has attacked Lionsgate's senior management for pursuing high-risk big-budget movies instead of both sticking to the tenets that put Lionsgate on the map with American Psycho and actively pursuing a more profitable future in distribution.
Icahn also actively poo-pooed the hot-and-cold, off-and-on-again possibilities of a Lionsgate/MGM merger: "Tying two one-legged men together does not mean they will run faster -- in fact it will slow them down."
In a nutshell, what this means to all of us movie lovers out there is that the Lionsgate brand of independent sensibilities wrapped around big-budget names and talent may be changing soon, as these opinionated, big-money personalities continue to take this fight further into the public eye. More on this story is on its way, as it develops.
