ICAHN LAUNCHES WEBSITE AIMED AT LIONS GATE SHAREHOLDERS

Perhaps sensing that his bid to take over Lions Gate Entertainment, the parent of Lionsgate Studios, has been greeted unenthusiastically by the news media, Carl Icahn has launched a website, www.SaveLionsGate.com, to present his case. It appears just one week before shareholders at their annual meeting are due to vote on a new board of directors. (Icahn has put up his own slate.) His website appears aimed at shareholders of the company, whose stock he has offered to buy at a small premium. Under the banner “Why Change Is Needed at Lions Gate,” he reprints copies of email messages sent and received by top officials of the company, some of which contain profane language. “These are our directors,” Icahn remarks. “Shareholders, would you want these guys running your family business, let alone Lions Gate?” He suggests that he was thwarted in his efforts to merge Lions Gate with Metro Goldwyn Mayer because MGM didn’t want to deal with Lions Gate management.