LOS ANGELES, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Carl Icahn released a slate of five proposed dissident directors for the board of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp, setting the stage for another showdown between the billionaire investor and the Hollywood studio's senior executives.
The nominations by Icahn -- who on Friday attacked studio management for failing to staunch a bleeding stock price -- comes just a week after the Hollywood studio behind 'Mad Men' and 'Saw' unveiled its own 12 candidates.
All but one of those were incumbents.
'Icahn has not articulated a vision for Lionsgate regarding how he would improve on these results and his nominees provide no further clarity on the critical issue of leading Lionsgate into the future.
In a proxy filing on Friday, Icahn continued his attacks on Lions Gate's management. He accused the company of failing to 'reverse declining shareholder value over the past five years and develop strategies that will enhance returns.'
Icahn earlier this year launched a hostile takeover bid for Lions Gate. His latest filing proposing the slate of directors shows he owns nearly 33 percent of the company's shares.
His five proposed directors are Jay Firestone, a Canadian film and television producer; Michael Dornemann, a former executive at Bertelsmann Entertainment; Christopher McGurk a former CEO of Overture Films; Daniel Ninivaggi the president of Icahn Enterprises; and Harold Shapiro, a professor of economics and public affairs at Princeton University.
Shareholders are scheduled to elect 12 new directors at an annual meeting on Dec. 14 in Los Angeles.
At the height of his battle with Lions Gate executives this summer, some in Hollywood speculated that Icahn might seek a board seat for his son, Brett, on the board. But his name was absent from Friday's slate.
Lions Gate in October filed a lawsuit against Icahn accusing him of secretly plotting to merge Lions Gate and the troubled studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the storied studio now going through a pre-packaged bankruptcy.
Icahn has sought to have the lawsuit dismissed.
Lions Gate shares closed flat at $7.44 on Friday on the New York Stock Exchange.
(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Bernard Orr) Keywords: LIONSGATE ICAHN (alex.dobuzinskis@thomsonreuters.com; 1 213-955-6781) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
The nominations by Icahn -- who on Friday attacked studio management for failing to staunch a bleeding stock price -- comes just a week after the Hollywood studio behind 'Mad Men' and 'Saw' unveiled its own 12 candidates.
All but one of those were incumbents.
'Icahn has not articulated a vision for Lionsgate regarding how he would improve on these results and his nominees provide no further clarity on the critical issue of leading Lionsgate into the future.
In a proxy filing on Friday, Icahn continued his attacks on Lions Gate's management. He accused the company of failing to 'reverse declining shareholder value over the past five years and develop strategies that will enhance returns.'
Icahn earlier this year launched a hostile takeover bid for Lions Gate. His latest filing proposing the slate of directors shows he owns nearly 33 percent of the company's shares.
His five proposed directors are Jay Firestone, a Canadian film and television producer; Michael Dornemann, a former executive at Bertelsmann Entertainment; Christopher McGurk a former CEO of Overture Films; Daniel Ninivaggi the president of Icahn Enterprises; and Harold Shapiro, a professor of economics and public affairs at Princeton University.
Shareholders are scheduled to elect 12 new directors at an annual meeting on Dec. 14 in Los Angeles.
At the height of his battle with Lions Gate executives this summer, some in Hollywood speculated that Icahn might seek a board seat for his son, Brett, on the board. But his name was absent from Friday's slate.
Lions Gate in October filed a lawsuit against Icahn accusing him of secretly plotting to merge Lions Gate and the troubled studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the storied studio now going through a pre-packaged bankruptcy.
Icahn has sought to have the lawsuit dismissed.
Lions Gate shares closed flat at $7.44 on Friday on the New York Stock Exchange.
(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Bernard Orr) Keywords: LIONSGATE ICAHN (alex.dobuzinskis@thomsonreuters.com; 1 213-955-6781) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.