ICAHN PREPARES FOR NEW LIONS GATE BATTLE NEXT YEAR

In a MacArthur-like “I shall return” pronouncement, Carl Icahn on Tuesday vowed to resume his battle with Lions Gate Entertainment management next year. Noting that the New York Supreme Court had agreed to hold a full trial on his complaint that Lions Gate had wrongfully diluted the value of his shares by conducting what he called “a bargain rate” debt-for-equity swap with his former deputy, Mark Rachesky, Icahn said: “We will continue to monitor the situation at Lions Gate and will aggressively take all actions necessary to protect our investment.” Also on Tuesday, the Lions Gate board of directors rejected Icahn’s nominees and reelected its current board. The company also said that it was no longer interested in pursuing a merger with MGM.