A day before a key vote on the leadership of Lionsgate, Carl Icahn tacitly acknowledged that his bid for control of the studio was in danger by allowing his latest tender offer to expire.
The billionaire’s move arrives on the heels of a New York court decision last week that denied Icahn’s requests to strip voting shares from a rival shareholder. In court cases in Canada and New York, Icahn has been trying to reverse a controversial debt for equity swap that reduced his stake from 32 to 38 percent and awarded a larger share in the company to shareholder Mark Rachesky.
Icahn had been hoping to use his larger stake to install a rival slate of board directors at the studio’s annual meeting on Tuesday.
“We recognize that it is now virtually impossible for us to prevail in the proxy contest due to the dilutive transaction in question. Nevertheless, we encourage shareholders to voice their dissatisfaction by voting for our slate of nominees,” Icahn said in a statement.
Icahn has issued a dizzying number of proxy offers over the last year in an effort to pad his holdings in the studio. His latest bid, which was contingent on the outcome of the court case, was for $7.50 a share.
"We are disappointed that our motion for a preliminary injunction barring the voting of the shares issued to director Mark Rachesky was not granted, but we are pleased that the judge agreed to hold a full trial on the matter within the next several months,” Icahn said in a statement.
