Santa Monica,
Calif. – Canadian film studio
Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF) announced on Friday that its board of directors has urged its
shareholders to reject a bid by activist investor Carl Icahn to increase his
share in the company from 18.9% to 30%.
Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer said the
board believes that Icahn’s offer "doesn’t reflect the full value of
Lionsgate shares… We are confident we can better serve our shareholders by
continuing to execute our strategic business plan, and the acquisition of
effective control by the Icahn Group would significantly jeopardize that
plan."
The company also said it did not wish to yield effective veto power
to Icahn over significant transactions, such as acquisitions, and that the
price offered by Icahn would give him such power "without paying a control
premium."
The Wall Street Journal noted that Lionsgate is considering an
acquisition of the film libraries of Disney’s Miramax and MGM.
Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/uswec
http://snipurl.com/uswbp
(WSJ)
http://snipurl.com/uswcr
(DMW previous coverage)
