ICAHN AND LIONS GATE BOARD SLUG IT OUT

The battle for the control of Lions Gate Entertainment was being fought with weapons of words over the weekend. Carl Icahn, who is seeking to take control of the company, after raising his stake in it to 28.1 percent on Friday, dispatched a letter to the board, charging that it was “dangerously detached from reality,” that it was “racing down the wrong road at breakneck speed towards a precipice” that it was refusing “to deal with the ticking time bomb sitting in your debt documents,” and that “the overspending in Lions Gate’s corporate suite is the stuff of legend.” Lions Gate shot back today (Monday), charging that Icahn “has a long history of destroying shareholder value once he obtains control of a company or even board representation.” It listed several examples, then noted that Icahn’s own flagship fund, Icahn Enterprises, had seen its shares fall 71 percent since 2007. “If Mr. Icahn cannot create value in his own funds, how can he do so in an industry in which he has limited and unsuccessful experience?” it asked. “Mr. Icahn has made statements designed to create fear, uncertainty and doubt in shareholders’ minds in an attempt to buy Lionsgate’s shares cheaply,” the statement continued. Finally, the board asked shareholders “to protect the value of your investment and continue to reject the Icahn Group’s inadequate offer by NOT tendering your shares now, or during the subsequent offering period.” That period ends on Wednesday.