Carl Icahn Launches Hostile Takeover Bid for Lions Gate

Just a week after Lions Gate rejected Carl Icahn's offer to boost stake in the studio, the billionaire corporate investor has launched a hostile takeover bid. Icahn has offered to buy all the Lions Gate shares he doesn't already own -- or roughly 81% of them.

According to the LA Times, Icahn is offering "$6 per share, which sent Lions Gate shares rising above the offer price in early morning trading." This offer comes as Lions Gate participates in the final round of bigging for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer -- a move Icahn does not endorse. Variety explains that:

The tussle between Icahn and Lions Gate management has been going on for a year and comes as Lions Gate is contemplating an acquisition of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio and Disney's Miramax Films division.

Icahn is looking to put the brakes on the studio's spending and, in a statement Friday, argued against buying another film library. Both MGM and Miramax have scores of titles in their vaults.

So far, there's been no response from Lion's Gate officials.
 

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