ICAHN RAISES HIS BID — AGAIN — TO BUY LIONS GATE

Carl Icahn has raised his bid to buy all of Lions Gate Entertainment — this time to $7.00 per share. His previous bid had been $6.00. “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 Lions Gate,” Icahn said in a letter to shareholders. “We do not feel comfortable that existing management is the right team to guide Lions Gate through this difficult period.” Shares in the company rose to $6.86 on Thursday in response to Icahn’s latest bid and also to anticipation that the company’s latest movie release, Kick-Ass would be a big hit at the box office this weekend. It paid $15 million for the movie, which, according to analysts, is expected to earn twice that amount in its debut. (See separate item.)