Icahn Ups Lionsgate Offer

NEW YORK: Carl Icahn has agreed to up his offer price for Lionsgate from $6 to $7 per share.

The billionaire investor is looking to take control of the independent studio through a tender offer. His previous bid of $6 per share was rejected by Lionsgate for being too low. In offering up a new price, Icahn issued an open letter to the company’s shareholders to "address the many criticisms and claims that the Lionsgate public relations machine has disseminated (at shareholders’ expense) with respect to our offer and to express my dissatisfaction with the failure by the board of directors to hold management accountable to the shareholders," he said.

He continued, "We decided to raise our offer price not because we believed $6 per share to be inadequate but rather because we felt it necessary to make every effort to protect the investment we currently have in Lionsgate."

Icahn went on to assert that Lionsgate’s efforts to acquire MGM or Miramax are "misguided." He added: "I think profligate spending has taken its toll on Lionsgate’s share price."