BREAKING NEWS! UPDATE: Lionsgate insiders tell me: “This isn’t a big surprise and doesn’t change the dynamics of the Icahn takeover fight. Cuban was one of Icahn’s nominees for the Yahoo Board of Directors in 2008, and we always thought it was likely he would tender to Icahn. We think if he does tender to Icahn at seven dollars a share, he’s leaving money on the table.”
Noon: Carl Icahn scored another huge victory in his hostile takeover battle for Lionsgate. Then again, Mark Cuban is one of the kookiest entrepreneurs out there and may just be seeking publicity at Lionsgate bosses’ expense or a negotiating advantage with the studio for board seats, movie and TV deals, access to the sizeable library, etc. Until today, Icahn had not been able to get traction with Lionsgate stockholders for his $7-a-share tender offer. But what Cuban said this morning on CNBC is “I really think I’m going to tender and I will have a conversation with them today… I have my reasons I don’t want to get into. But I think it’s the right move for right now and the right move for the long term, for the company and me.”
With Cuban’s shares, Icahn would become Lionsgate’s largest shareholder. Cuban owns 5.3% of Lionsgate shares, and Icahn already owns nearly 19%. To date, only about 4% of the studio stockholders had agreed to tender to him despite Icahn extending the offer, which now expires on June 16th. So, altogether, Icahn could own at least 28% of Lionsgate stock. Meanwhile, Lionsgate management have seemed to exhaust their defenses against him. Their attempt to put in place a poison pill was foiled by a British Columbian regulatory body, and a Canadian court rejected Lionsgate’s appeal of the decision. (Santa Monica-based Lionsgate is both U.S. and Canadian operated.) The studio keeps urging shareholders to give Icahn’s offer cold shoulder, and they have. But if Cuban decides to back Icahn, it could influence other stockholders.
Meanwhile, the effect on Hollywood is that Lionsgate is now a destabilized studio and staff there are fearful.
I’ll have exclusive reporting on this developing story within the hour.
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
The staff should be fearful if Lionsgate is going to keep making movies like Killers.
Why can’t we all just get along?
Seriously though, I think it’s time for some sort of peace be made between Icahn and Lionsgate Management.
It looks like neither side side can win total victory over the other. It also looks like continuing this standoff will only hurt the company, and ultimately the bottom lines of both sides. I mean how much has already been spent on this fight that could have been invested in projects that earn revenue?
So give Icahn a seat on the board, sing “Give Peace A Chance,” I don’t really care at this point, just do something, anything, and try to get Lionsgate 100% back in the movie business.
Icahn is a douche bag!
lunch is for wimps.
Lion gate management might as well call the lawers to go over the paper work and get a pen for looks like Carl now with Mark cuban on his side. Carl has Lion gate all but his. the fat lady might as well start singing for looks like Carl has made Lion gate his new plaything . and some of those scared workers might start looking for new work. or make a deal with their soon to be new boss
Cuban will clean house over there. That place is full or morons, starting with Alf… I mean Feltheimer
Giving Icahn anything at this point would be a mistake. He would only ruin the studio, just like he did TWA and just about any other company he’s taken over. LionsGate should get some financial backing that would allow them to buy back Icahn’s shares at $8 a share, since Icahn thinks $7 is all LionsGate is worth and shut him out of the company for good. If Icahn isn’t willing to sell his shares for $8 back to LionsGate it shows he knows his $7 a share offer is an insult for a company that used to trade at $10 – $13 a share, which was when Icahn bought most of his shares to begin with.
Cuban is looking for any attention he can get at this point. He made sure he got in the press during the Miramax/Weinstein Company talks and now he is getting his 15 minutes of fame from LionsGate/Icahn. Cuban should focus on his floundering HDNet & Magnolia/Magnet/2929 Films ventures at this point. It seems like the only smart thing he did was sell his internet company to Yahoo two weeks before the dot com bust.
cuban is a wealthy hack.
One wonders what Icahn has in mind with his direction of the Studio. Even in the months that he has been pursuing this gambit, the business seems to have changed.
I presume most of the staff bloodletting is done at all the studios, the long term viability of Lionsgate’s library is a possible cash play, but the long term viability of the studio seems to lie in producing product that sells. He seems impatient, so is this all just a guy holding the studio upside down to shake out it’s pockets and sell off the parts for theoretically more than the whole?
What’s up with Cuban’s hair? Looks like a serious combover or a wig. Ew.