Billionaire Carl Icahn has launched a website he says is intended to “save” Vancouver-based Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (NYSE:LGF).
In a statement published Monday, Icahn, an activist investor who has been fighting for control of the Hollywood studio for months, said the website includes multiple reports that justify his bid for the company.
The first report targets Lions Gate director Mark Rachesky for his role in a July stock transaction Icahn believes was meant to dilute his shareholding.
Icahn is Lions Gate’s largest shareholder and has tendered an offer to buy the company for $7.50 per share. The deal is set to expire December 10 at midnight.
Meantime, Icahn intends to lobby shareholders to support his bid via his new website.
“Through the years, I have seen many transgressions of corporate governance, but they all pale in comparison to what has taken place during a week in mid-July, 2010,” Icahn said.
Last month, B.C. Supreme Court dismissed a petition Icahn filed against Lions Gate to block an earlier stock transaction that saw Rachesky increase his stake in the company. (See “Proposed Lions Gate-MGM merger stymied amid bankruptcy deal” – BIV Business Today, November 4.)
According to court documents, Icahn claimed the transaction the board undertook was “... for no purpose other than to maintain their current stranglehold ... over Lions Gate” and block his takeover attempt.
Judge John Savage ruled the transaction was valid.
“In my view, the Icahn Group complains of conduct which affects it, not as a shareholder, but as a bitter bidder,” Savage wrote.
At press time, Lions Gate’s shares were down $0.11 to $7.25.