Lionsgate shareholders reject Carl Icahn slate

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Lionsgate Entertainment announced that all of the company’s nominees to the board of directors were elected at the annual shareholders meeting on Tuesday. Not a single one of the nominees of Lionsgate’s largest shareholder, Carl Icahn, won a seat on the board.


Certified results will be issued by IVS Associates Inc., but the company said preliminary estimates by its proxy solicitor showed that all 11 board members running for reelection won, along with the board’s new independent nominee, Frank Giustra. Icahn had nominated a dissident slate of five nominees.

Icahn’s battle for control of the movie/TV studio was dealt a blow last week when he lost a court battle to keep newly-issued shares from a debt-for-equity swap from being voted. As a result, Icahn dropped his offer to buy out other shareholders for $7.50 per share without purchasing any of the shares which had been tendered.

Lionsgate management celebrated the victory. “We appreciate the strong support we have received from our shareholders throughout this process. Today’s outcome reaffirms that Lionsgate shareholders continue to have confidence in the Board’s and management team’s strategy to enhance value for all Lionsgate shareholders. With Lionsgate poised for continued future success, the Board and management team will continue to focus on building the Company’s strong portfolio of brands and franchises and positioning our unique and diversified platform of assets for future growth,” said a company statement.

Lionsgate has a major television presence in production of prime time cable and broadcast network series, distribution and syndication of programming through Debmar-Mercury and an array of channel assets.  Lionsgate currently has 15 shows on more than 10 networks spanning its prime time production, distribution and syndication businesses, including such critically-acclaimed hits as “Mad Men”, “Weeds” and “Nurse Jackie” along with new series such as “Blue Mountain State” and “Running Wilde” and the syndication successes “Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne”, its spinoff “Meet The Browns”, “The Wendy Williams Show” and the recently announced “Are We There Yet?”.

Its feature film business has generated such recent hits as “The Expendables,” “The Last Exorcism,” “Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too?,” “Kick Ass” and “Precious.”