Last week, news broke of Jeff Bezos‘ staggering $2 billion stock sale, accompanied by the convenient perk of the absence of state taxes.
This development comes as no surprise after Bezos’ revealed his decision to uproot himself from his famous home in Seattle, where he resided for nearly three decades, and relocate to Miami. While Bezos cited reasons such as proximity to family and his space exploration ventures at Blue Origin, tax avoidance as an underlying motivation cannot be discounted.
In 2022, Washington state introduced a progressive capital gains tax of 7% on the sale of stocks or bonds that exceeded $250,000.
As Washington lacked a personal income tax, this was the first instance where Bezos would be subject to state taxes on his stock sales. This tax imposition disrupted Bezos’ long-standing pattern of selling billions of dollars worth of Amazon shares annually since 1998. These sales primarily fueled his philanthropic endeavors, investment in Blue...
This development comes as no surprise after Bezos’ revealed his decision to uproot himself from his famous home in Seattle, where he resided for nearly three decades, and relocate to Miami. While Bezos cited reasons such as proximity to family and his space exploration ventures at Blue Origin, tax avoidance as an underlying motivation cannot be discounted.
In 2022, Washington state introduced a progressive capital gains tax of 7% on the sale of stocks or bonds that exceeded $250,000.
As Washington lacked a personal income tax, this was the first instance where Bezos would be subject to state taxes on his stock sales. This tax imposition disrupted Bezos’ long-standing pattern of selling billions of dollars worth of Amazon shares annually since 1998. These sales primarily fueled his philanthropic endeavors, investment in Blue...
- 2/14/2024
- by Baila Eve Zisman
- Uinterview
Nelson Peltz’s broadside against the Walt Disney Co., and the prospect of a rare proxy fight at the media giant, stunned media circles this week — and a flurry of SEC filings over the past few days suggest plenty more fireworks to come.
Related Story Bob Iger’s Christmas Carol & The Ghosts Of Past, Present & Future Related Story Disney Seeks To Soothe Fans' Ruffled Feathers With New Theme Park Perks Related Story International Box Office 2022: Gains & Growing Pains Amid Product Gaps; Global Studio Rankings
The activist investor’s demand for a seat on the company’s board and criticism of management have drawn the full attention of a Wall Street already on tenterhooks about how returned CEO Bob Iger will right the ship. The famed exec’s encore run as Disney’s chief already faces a series of challenges, some industrywide, others self-inflicted.
Peltz isn’t quite a household name,...
Related Story Bob Iger’s Christmas Carol & The Ghosts Of Past, Present & Future Related Story Disney Seeks To Soothe Fans' Ruffled Feathers With New Theme Park Perks Related Story International Box Office 2022: Gains & Growing Pains Amid Product Gaps; Global Studio Rankings
The activist investor’s demand for a seat on the company’s board and criticism of management have drawn the full attention of a Wall Street already on tenterhooks about how returned CEO Bob Iger will right the ship. The famed exec’s encore run as Disney’s chief already faces a series of challenges, some industrywide, others self-inflicted.
Peltz isn’t quite a household name,...
- 1/14/2023
- by Dade Hayes and Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Back in the mid-1980’s, Oliver Stone met with famed financier Carl Icahn about a movie he was writing called “Wall Street.” The meeting provided the director with much of the inspiration for the film’s villain Gordon Gekko. Stone speaks about the meeting in HBO’s documentary “Icahn: The Restless Billionaire,” debuting on Feb. 15. Along with Stone, the 100-minute docu features interviews with Icahn, his wife Gail and children Brett and Michelle.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and business journalists including Andrew Ross Sorkin (New York Times), Cara Lombardo (The Wall Street Journal) and Rana Foroohar (Financial Times) also help director Bruce David Klein unpack many of the octogenarian billionaire’s legendary business dealings. Corporate deals that include Icahn’s takeover of Twa in the 1980s, his 2013 high-profile investment in Apple, which provoked a stock rise of $17 billion dollars, his public battle with Bill Ackman over Herbalife that same year,...
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and business journalists including Andrew Ross Sorkin (New York Times), Cara Lombardo (The Wall Street Journal) and Rana Foroohar (Financial Times) also help director Bruce David Klein unpack many of the octogenarian billionaire’s legendary business dealings. Corporate deals that include Icahn’s takeover of Twa in the 1980s, his 2013 high-profile investment in Apple, which provoked a stock rise of $17 billion dollars, his public battle with Bill Ackman over Herbalife that same year,...
- 2/15/2022
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Chuck Collins has the rare distinction of becoming a member of the 0.01 percent and then leaving the ranks of the uber-wealthy — by choice. An heir to the Oscar Mayer fortune, he came into a substantial sum of money in his 20s and decided to give almost all of it away. But he didn’t stop there: Collins has devoted most of his life to chronicling income and wealth inequality in America, documenting how the fortunes of a tiny slice of Americans have soared while wages stagnate for most of us.
- 6/22/2021
- by Andy Kroll
- Rollingstone.com
Powerhouse Discovery Inc. president and CEO David Zaslav, consistently one of the highest paid CEOs of a public company ever since he took the company’s reins in 2007, announced Discovery’s tightly brokered blockbuster takeover of WarnerMedia earlier this week. And the media landscape was shooketh.
The surprise mega-merger was negotiated in a Greenwich Village townhouse owned by Zaslav, whose 2020 compensation package totaled $37.7 million, a staggering sum by any standard but well below the $129.4 million in compensation he received in 2018 and even less than the stratospheric $156.1 million he hoovered up back in 2014. To be clearer, Zaslav’s base salary has held steady for more than a decade at $3 million per year, with the bulk of his annual compensation granted in vesting stock awards, option awards and non-equity incentives. Still, it would take a median-salary Discovery worker who earns about $80,000 a year nearly 500 years to earn what Zaslav did in 2020.
Like most spectacularly compensated media titans,...
The surprise mega-merger was negotiated in a Greenwich Village townhouse owned by Zaslav, whose 2020 compensation package totaled $37.7 million, a staggering sum by any standard but well below the $129.4 million in compensation he received in 2018 and even less than the stratospheric $156.1 million he hoovered up back in 2014. To be clearer, Zaslav’s base salary has held steady for more than a decade at $3 million per year, with the bulk of his annual compensation granted in vesting stock awards, option awards and non-equity incentives. Still, it would take a median-salary Discovery worker who earns about $80,000 a year nearly 500 years to earn what Zaslav did in 2020.
Like most spectacularly compensated media titans,...
- 5/20/2021
- by Mark David, Dirt.com
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Donald Trump’s former Atlantic City hotel and casino, Trump Plaza, was imploded Wednesday, February 17th.
The demolition took place around 9 a.m. Et with the help of about 3,000 sticks of dynamite, according to The New York Times. A nearby lot was reportedly charging people $10 to park their cars and watch the show.
Trump Plaza opened in 1984, the first of three casinos the former U.S. president would open in Atlantic City, followed by Trump Castle (later renamed the Trump Marina), and Trump Taj Mahal. For a brief period of time,...
The demolition took place around 9 a.m. Et with the help of about 3,000 sticks of dynamite, according to The New York Times. A nearby lot was reportedly charging people $10 to park their cars and watch the show.
Trump Plaza opened in 1984, the first of three casinos the former U.S. president would open in Atlantic City, followed by Trump Castle (later renamed the Trump Marina), and Trump Taj Mahal. For a brief period of time,...
- 2/17/2021
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
One of the president’s former casinos will be demolished just days after Trump must leave the White House, and the winner of a charity auction will press the button that implodes the building.
The right to relieve four years of frustration and blow up the former Trump Plaza casino in Atlantic City will be auctioned off in late January, fittingly close to the same day that President-elect Joe Biden will be inaugurated.
Proceeds from the auction will go to the Boys & Girls Club of Atlantic City. The city’s mayor,...
The right to relieve four years of frustration and blow up the former Trump Plaza casino in Atlantic City will be auctioned off in late January, fittingly close to the same day that President-elect Joe Biden will be inaugurated.
Proceeds from the auction will go to the Boys & Girls Club of Atlantic City. The city’s mayor,...
- 12/17/2020
- by Peter Wade
- Rollingstone.com
Longtime corporate raider Carl Icahn, who famously tried to break up Time Warner in 2006 and takeover Lionsgate in 2010, announced a succession plan Thursday where his son Brett to succeed him as CEO of the family’s investment business — in seven years.
During that time, the younger Icahn will join the board, manage a portfolio of assets “subject to certain veto rights by Carl Icahn” and purchase $10 million worth of depositary units in the publicly-traded company from his father. He’ll become chairman of Icahn Enterprises and CEO of the investment business “following the end of the 7-year term of the Agreement or earlier if Carl Icahn should so determine,” the firm announced.
Brett’s been a portfolio manager with the company since 2014. Now, along with his father, he’ll oversee three new managers who will work in the Investment segment: Gary Hu, most recently an analyst with Silver Point Capital; Steven Miller,...
During that time, the younger Icahn will join the board, manage a portfolio of assets “subject to certain veto rights by Carl Icahn” and purchase $10 million worth of depositary units in the publicly-traded company from his father. He’ll become chairman of Icahn Enterprises and CEO of the investment business “following the end of the 7-year term of the Agreement or earlier if Carl Icahn should so determine,” the firm announced.
Brett’s been a portfolio manager with the company since 2014. Now, along with his father, he’ll oversee three new managers who will work in the Investment segment: Gary Hu, most recently an analyst with Silver Point Capital; Steven Miller,...
- 10/1/2020
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Frank Biondi Jr., the seasoned entertainment business executive who served tenures as the CEO of HBO, Viacom and Universal Studios, died Monday of cancer at his home in Los Angeles. He was 74.
Biondi was the consummate example of the kind of polished, Ivy League-trained business executives who rose through the ranks in the entertainment industry in the 1980s and ‘90s. He was a respected leader known as a whiz with financial data and high-level dealmaking, but he left the creative side of network and studio operations to others.
Biondi was remembered by friends and colleagues as a key player in shaping the contemporary media and entertainment industries. Robert Simonds, chairman-ceo of Stx Entertainment who is married to Biondi’s daughter Anne, considered him a mentor.
“Anne and I are devastated to lose Frank so young,” Simonds said. “He was not only an icon and mentor to me, as he...
Biondi was the consummate example of the kind of polished, Ivy League-trained business executives who rose through the ranks in the entertainment industry in the 1980s and ‘90s. He was a respected leader known as a whiz with financial data and high-level dealmaking, but he left the creative side of network and studio operations to others.
Biondi was remembered by friends and colleagues as a key player in shaping the contemporary media and entertainment industries. Robert Simonds, chairman-ceo of Stx Entertainment who is married to Biondi’s daughter Anne, considered him a mentor.
“Anne and I are devastated to lose Frank so young,” Simonds said. “He was not only an icon and mentor to me, as he...
- 11/25/2019
- by Cynthia Littleton
- Variety Film + TV
Updated with stock movement, Trump comments: AT&T shares rose more than 4% to $37.88 in early trading Monday – one of the stock’s biggest one-day gains in months – after activist hedge fund Elliott Management disclosed a $3.2 billion stake in the telecom and media giant.
The news attracted the interest of President Donald Trump, who took it as an opportunity to take his latest swipe at CNN, noting in Twitter posts its “Fake News” and “non-credible ‘anchors’ ” and saying the cable news network is “losing a fortune” and “bad for the USA.”
Citing a lack of strategic focus at AT&T, Elliott bought the small slice of the company, whose market value is about $260 billion, in order to advance a plan it has dubbed “Activate AT&T.” If management follows its set of recommendations, Elliott said in a letter to the AT&T board, the company’s share price will trade north of...
The news attracted the interest of President Donald Trump, who took it as an opportunity to take his latest swipe at CNN, noting in Twitter posts its “Fake News” and “non-credible ‘anchors’ ” and saying the cable news network is “losing a fortune” and “bad for the USA.”
Citing a lack of strategic focus at AT&T, Elliott bought the small slice of the company, whose market value is about $260 billion, in order to advance a plan it has dubbed “Activate AT&T.” If management follows its set of recommendations, Elliott said in a letter to the AT&T board, the company’s share price will trade north of...
- 9/9/2019
- by Dade Hayes
- Deadline Film + TV
President Donald Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen threatened to sue CNBC to get his boss higher placement on the cable network’s list of top business leaders after Cohen’s efforts to rig the polling failed, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Cohen threatened to sue on the dubious legal grounds of “ignoring the will of the people,” WSJ reported, which may explain why the news network did not respond to the threat, and why Trump did not sue, according to the report.
CNBC declined to comment.
The kerfuffle erupted when Trump failed to break into the Top 100 finalists on CNBC’s ranking of people who it determined had the most profound impact on business and finance since 1989, which was the year CNBC went live.
To put this list in perspective, it was curated by a panel CNBC deemed experts on the topic and included an online poll to “guide...
Cohen threatened to sue on the dubious legal grounds of “ignoring the will of the people,” WSJ reported, which may explain why the news network did not respond to the threat, and why Trump did not sue, according to the report.
CNBC declined to comment.
The kerfuffle erupted when Trump failed to break into the Top 100 finalists on CNBC’s ranking of people who it determined had the most profound impact on business and finance since 1989, which was the year CNBC went live.
To put this list in perspective, it was curated by a panel CNBC deemed experts on the topic and included an online poll to “guide...
- 1/21/2019
- by Lisa de Moraes
- Deadline Film + TV
Lionsgate has agreed to pay Carl Icahn $7 each for more than 19 million of his shares in the company, bringing an end to this drawn out saga even closer. There had been reports last week that the sale of the stocks would be put on hold due to Lionsgate’s falling share price, but the studio announced on Thursday it had agreed to terms with the investor. Once Lionsgate completes its purchase of Icahn’s stock, his companies will control just 3.1 percent of the studio. Icahn had been locked in a lengthy proxy...
- 10/13/2011
- by Lucas Shaw
- The Wrap
Breaking: In the ongoing courtroom battle between Liongate and Carl Icahn, Lionsgate came out a big winner today. A New York State Supreme Court judge dismissed Icahn's suit against Lionsgate over the studio's de-leveraging transaction on July 20, 2012. That maneuver converted $100 million in convertible subordinated debt to shareholder equity. The shares ended up in the hands of Lionsgate board member Mark Rachesky, and diluted Icahn's ownership percentage at a crucial time in his takeover bid. Icahn first sued on the matter in British Columbia, and essentially the New York court sided with the BC decision. Here is the full opinion. Separately, a trial looms in New York Southern District Court in a lawsuit that Lionsgate filed against Icahn alleging he attempted to interfere with Lionsgate's efforts to merge with MGM when he secretly had the same move in mind. As part of that suit, the court will decide an allegation by...
- 3/30/2011
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
New York - Lionsgate fended off a takeover by activist investor Carl Icahn last year, but the company is still pressing a legal case against him that features the likes of MGM and Mark Cuban and even Girls Gone Wild creator Joe Francis in a supporting role, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
Lionsgate has asked a Manhattan court to force Icahn to disclose information about a confidential agreement he allegedly struck with creditors of MGM about a possible merger of the two movie studios, according to the paper. The filing is part of a lawsuit, in which Lionsgate accused Icahn of privately plotting to merge the two while publicly denigrating such a deal during Icahn's drive to gain control of Lionsgate.
Lionsgate also asked that Icahn disclose information about a "side deal," including “special consideration,” that it claims it made with Dallas Mavericks owner Cuban to get him to...
Lionsgate has asked a Manhattan court to force Icahn to disclose information about a confidential agreement he allegedly struck with creditors of MGM about a possible merger of the two movie studios, according to the paper. The filing is part of a lawsuit, in which Lionsgate accused Icahn of privately plotting to merge the two while publicly denigrating such a deal during Icahn's drive to gain control of Lionsgate.
Lionsgate also asked that Icahn disclose information about a "side deal," including “special consideration,” that it claims it made with Dallas Mavericks owner Cuban to get him to...
Carl Icahn has struck out in his bid place loyalists on Lionsgate's board of directors. Shareholders rejected the billionaire investor's five nominees at the company's annual meeting on Tuesday.
Icahn has been engaged in a hostile takeover bid for the Vancouver based studio for much of the past year.
More to come...
Icahn has been engaged in a hostile takeover bid for the Vancouver based studio for much of the past year.
More to come...
- 12/14/2010
- by Brent Lang
- The Wrap
Toronto -- Lionsgate Entertainment, locked in a proxy battle with Carl Icahn, on Friday ramped up its get-out-the-vote machine by reminding shareholders to back its director nominees at its annual general meeting Tuesday.
The final appeal is less about shareholder value or knocking the rival camp as getting shareholders to use the right blue or gold proxy card.
Lionsgate took pains to urge shareholders that voted a gold proxy card from the Icahn Group to unwind that support by using mini-studio's blue proxy card.
"Do not vote the Icahn proxy card at all, even as a vote against Icahn, as it may cancel your previous vote for Lionsgate's director nominees," Lionsgate added in a note to shareholders.
The reminder to vote comes a day after Lionsgate won a key legal victory over Icahn in New York that will make it more difficult for the activist shareholder to get his own...
The final appeal is less about shareholder value or knocking the rival camp as getting shareholders to use the right blue or gold proxy card.
Lionsgate took pains to urge shareholders that voted a gold proxy card from the Icahn Group to unwind that support by using mini-studio's blue proxy card.
"Do not vote the Icahn proxy card at all, even as a vote against Icahn, as it may cancel your previous vote for Lionsgate's director nominees," Lionsgate added in a note to shareholders.
The reminder to vote comes a day after Lionsgate won a key legal victory over Icahn in New York that will make it more difficult for the activist shareholder to get his own...
- 12/10/2010
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Toronto -- Carl Icahn on Thursday received qualified support for his proxy slate a week before Lionsgate Entertainment's annual shareholders meeting in Los Angeles.
Proxy voting advisor Institutional Shareholder Services (Iss) recommended Lionsgate shareholders vote for three of Icahn's board nominees, Canadian TV producer Jay Firestone, former Bertelsmann Entertainment executive Michael Dornemann and Daniel Ninivaggi, president of Ichan Enterprises.
But Iss denied support for former Overture Films CEO Chris McGurk and Princeton economics professor Harold Shapiro, who round out Icahn's dissident nominee slate.
The Wall Street advisor has backed Icahn in previous proxy battles, and its latest boost includes criticism of Lionsgate for battling its largest shareholder as it gave another major investor, Mark Rachesky, an advantage with a July debt-for-equity exchange.
"The (Lionsgate) board has demonstrated a disturbing concern with gaining tactical advantage over one large dissident shareholder, yet in the process demonstrated little regard for the collateral damage...
Proxy voting advisor Institutional Shareholder Services (Iss) recommended Lionsgate shareholders vote for three of Icahn's board nominees, Canadian TV producer Jay Firestone, former Bertelsmann Entertainment executive Michael Dornemann and Daniel Ninivaggi, president of Ichan Enterprises.
But Iss denied support for former Overture Films CEO Chris McGurk and Princeton economics professor Harold Shapiro, who round out Icahn's dissident nominee slate.
The Wall Street advisor has backed Icahn in previous proxy battles, and its latest boost includes criticism of Lionsgate for battling its largest shareholder as it gave another major investor, Mark Rachesky, an advantage with a July debt-for-equity exchange.
"The (Lionsgate) board has demonstrated a disturbing concern with gaining tactical advantage over one large dissident shareholder, yet in the process demonstrated little regard for the collateral damage...
- 12/9/2010
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
As his proxy fight with Lionsgate comes to a climax, Carl Icahn has unveiled five rebel board nominees for Lionsgate Entertainment¹s upcoming shareholders meeting, led by former Overture Films CEO Chris McGurk.
In response, Lionsgate late Friday said it had received notice from Icahn that he intended to nominate five dissident board members, but added the move "has not articulated a vision for Lionsgate regarding how he (Icahn) would improve" on recent financial results.
The proposed directors from the billionaire investor include Canadian TV producer Jay Firestone, former Bertelsmann Entertainment executive Michael Dornemann, Princeton economics professor Harold Shapiro and Daniel Ninivaggi, president of Ichan Enterprises.
The five dissident director nominees will be nominated for voting by shareholders at Lionsgate¹s upcoming Agm in Los Angeles on Dec. 14.
Lionsgate earlier unveiled its own slate of directors, with 11 of its incumbent directors up for re-election.
Only Brian Tobin, a former...
In response, Lionsgate late Friday said it had received notice from Icahn that he intended to nominate five dissident board members, but added the move "has not articulated a vision for Lionsgate regarding how he (Icahn) would improve" on recent financial results.
The proposed directors from the billionaire investor include Canadian TV producer Jay Firestone, former Bertelsmann Entertainment executive Michael Dornemann, Princeton economics professor Harold Shapiro and Daniel Ninivaggi, president of Ichan Enterprises.
The five dissident director nominees will be nominated for voting by shareholders at Lionsgate¹s upcoming Agm in Los Angeles on Dec. 14.
Lionsgate earlier unveiled its own slate of directors, with 11 of its incumbent directors up for re-election.
Only Brian Tobin, a former...
- 11/26/2010
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The cost of fending off Carl Icahn continues to weigh down the bottom line at Lionsgate Entertainment.
Vancouver-based Lionsgate on Tuesday reported a second quarter loss of $29.7 million, compared to earnings of $31.7 million in the same period of 2009, as overall revenue jumped 25% to $456.3 million.
The swing to a loss during the three months to Sept. 30 came as the mini-studio swallowed higher theatrical distribution and marketing costs from four wide releases during the latest quarter, including The Expendables and The Last Exorcism, against two releases in the second quarter of 2009.
But the latest frame for Lionsgate also included equity interest losses of $20.7 million and a $14.5 million non-cash charge associated a July 20 debt-to-equity conversion that raised the ire of Icahn, Lionsgate’s largest shareholder, and reduced his overall holding.
The mini-major also recorded $4 million in legal defense and other costs from fighting off Icahn’s long and bitter battle to seize control of
Lionsgate.
Vancouver-based Lionsgate on Tuesday reported a second quarter loss of $29.7 million, compared to earnings of $31.7 million in the same period of 2009, as overall revenue jumped 25% to $456.3 million.
The swing to a loss during the three months to Sept. 30 came as the mini-studio swallowed higher theatrical distribution and marketing costs from four wide releases during the latest quarter, including The Expendables and The Last Exorcism, against two releases in the second quarter of 2009.
But the latest frame for Lionsgate also included equity interest losses of $20.7 million and a $14.5 million non-cash charge associated a July 20 debt-to-equity conversion that raised the ire of Icahn, Lionsgate’s largest shareholder, and reduced his overall holding.
The mini-major also recorded $4 million in legal defense and other costs from fighting off Icahn’s long and bitter battle to seize control of
Lionsgate.
- 11/9/2010
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Toronto -- Lionsgate shareholders now have until Oct. 22 to possibly tender their shares to Carl Icahn.
The extension of the current $6.50 per-share offer from the activist shareholder came Wednesday.
Icahn said time was needed for the Supreme Court of British Columbia to consider his application for a court injunction to rescind a recent debt-to-equity conversion between Lionsgate and major investor and board member Mark Rachesky.
That transaction effectively reduced Icahn's stake in the Vancouver-based mini-studio, and potentially his influence, from 37.3% to 33.5%.
The extension of the current $6.50 per-share offer from the activist shareholder came Wednesday.
Icahn said time was needed for the Supreme Court of British Columbia to consider his application for a court injunction to rescind a recent debt-to-equity conversion between Lionsgate and major investor and board member Mark Rachesky.
That transaction effectively reduced Icahn's stake in the Vancouver-based mini-studio, and potentially his influence, from 37.3% to 33.5%.
- 8/11/2010
- by By Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Updated: What came out of the 10-day cease fire between Carl Icahn and Lionsgate management? An offer by Icahn to buy the company for $6.50 a share. Considering that Icahn acquired over 30% of the company by offering $7 per share -- Lionsgate management called that sum inadequate and urged shareholders to reject it -- it seems unlikely this will lead to a deal. Icahn's firm said today there were no immediate opportunities that justified extending the "standstill period," though it said discussions about a potential acquisition may continue in the future. Icahn's side also reiterated that it intends to replace [...]...
- 7/20/2010
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
Toronto -- Carl Icahn has resumed hostilities with Lionsgate.
The corporate raider on Tuesday morning launched yet another tender offer for outstanding shares in the mini-studio, this time at $6.50 each.
The move follows a 10-day truce between Icahn and Lionsgate expiring Monday night.
The Vancouver-based film and TV producer said its board of directors will review the takeover bid, which is set to expire on August 25, unless extended or withdrawn.
Lionsgate also advised company shareholders to take no action at this time.
The mini-studio will also throw up a poison-pill defense to thwart the latest offensive from its largest shareholder.
Icahn has amassed a near-38% stake in Lionsgate, in part through an earlier $7.00 per-share tender offer that expired on June 30.
Icahn's next move could also be to wage a costly proxy fight at Lionsgate's next shareholders meeting, likely in mid-September.
The corporate raider on Tuesday morning launched yet another tender offer for outstanding shares in the mini-studio, this time at $6.50 each.
The move follows a 10-day truce between Icahn and Lionsgate expiring Monday night.
The Vancouver-based film and TV producer said its board of directors will review the takeover bid, which is set to expire on August 25, unless extended or withdrawn.
Lionsgate also advised company shareholders to take no action at this time.
The mini-studio will also throw up a poison-pill defense to thwart the latest offensive from its largest shareholder.
Icahn has amassed a near-38% stake in Lionsgate, in part through an earlier $7.00 per-share tender offer that expired on June 30.
Icahn's next move could also be to wage a costly proxy fight at Lionsgate's next shareholders meeting, likely in mid-September.
- 7/20/2010
- by By Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Toronto -- We'll know late Monday, July 19, whether the current Carl Icahn-Lionsgate truce will be extended or is just a respite, with war to break out again.
Corporate raider Icahn and Lionsgate 10 days ago struck a 10-day ceasefire to jointly work on M&A deals.
The temporary truce expires at 9 p.m. Monday night, according to an agreement between the two parties.
Neither side appears in any hurry to renew the truce, and the two parties could renew hostilities with Icahn launching a new tender offer and putting up a slate for a proxy fight at Lionsgate's upcoming shareholder meeting.
Over the last 10 days, Icahn, who has a near-38% in the Vancouver-based mini-studio, has lent an ear to Lionsgate's case for possible acquisitions, including a run at MGM.
As the deadline for the end of truce nears, much could depend on the personal chemistry between Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer,...
Corporate raider Icahn and Lionsgate 10 days ago struck a 10-day ceasefire to jointly work on M&A deals.
The temporary truce expires at 9 p.m. Monday night, according to an agreement between the two parties.
Neither side appears in any hurry to renew the truce, and the two parties could renew hostilities with Icahn launching a new tender offer and putting up a slate for a proxy fight at Lionsgate's upcoming shareholder meeting.
Over the last 10 days, Icahn, who has a near-38% in the Vancouver-based mini-studio, has lent an ear to Lionsgate's case for possible acquisitions, including a run at MGM.
As the deadline for the end of truce nears, much could depend on the personal chemistry between Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer,...
- 7/19/2010
- by By Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Toronto -- Carl Icahn's $7.00 per-share tender offer for outstanding Lionsgate shares may be done, but not his enthusiasm for open market purchases of stock in the mini-studio.
So Vancouver-based Lionsgate has adopted yet another poison pill defense to fight off a hostile takeover bid, and one firmly aimed at Icahn, the company's largest shareholder with a 37.9% stake.
The latest shareholder rights plan aims to block "any initiative to acquire effective control of the company," Lionsgate said in a statement, including Icahn buying out major stakeholders like himself, or making additional open-market purchases of stock.
Icahn in a July 1 SEC filing revealed he acquired 6.22 million Lionsgate shares between Tuesday and Thursday at $7.00 each to get to 44.7 million shares, or a 37.9% stake.
"The rights plan encourages the acquisition of effective control of Lionsgate only through means of a 'permitted bid' or a negotiated transaction that treats shareholders equally and fairly," Lionsgate said in a statement.
So Vancouver-based Lionsgate has adopted yet another poison pill defense to fight off a hostile takeover bid, and one firmly aimed at Icahn, the company's largest shareholder with a 37.9% stake.
The latest shareholder rights plan aims to block "any initiative to acquire effective control of the company," Lionsgate said in a statement, including Icahn buying out major stakeholders like himself, or making additional open-market purchases of stock.
Icahn in a July 1 SEC filing revealed he acquired 6.22 million Lionsgate shares between Tuesday and Thursday at $7.00 each to get to 44.7 million shares, or a 37.9% stake.
"The rights plan encourages the acquisition of effective control of Lionsgate only through means of a 'permitted bid' or a negotiated transaction that treats shareholders equally and fairly," Lionsgate said in a statement.
- 7/2/2010
- by By Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Toronto -- Carl Icahn's stake in Lionsgate now stands at 33.9% after his $7.00 per-share tender offer expired Wednesday night.
Another 2.43 million shares, or 2.1% of outstanding stock, flowed to the Icahn Group during a subsequent offer period from June 16 to June 30.
Lionsgate in a statement thanked the 66% of company shareholders that rebuffed Icahn's bid for corporate control for supporting the Vancouver-based mini-studio and its current business strategy.
Icahn and his affiliates, which now hold just over 40 million of Lionsgate's common stock as the company's largest shareholder, have indicated the unsolicited tender offer is now finished, and will not be extended.
Where Icahn moves next in his battle with Lionsgate senior management is uncertain. He has promised a proxy fight at the movie and TV studio's upcoming annual shareholders meeting, likely in September.
More immediately, an end to Icahn's tender offer is expected to send Lionsgate shares southwards in price.
"Absent Icahn's tender...
Another 2.43 million shares, or 2.1% of outstanding stock, flowed to the Icahn Group during a subsequent offer period from June 16 to June 30.
Lionsgate in a statement thanked the 66% of company shareholders that rebuffed Icahn's bid for corporate control for supporting the Vancouver-based mini-studio and its current business strategy.
Icahn and his affiliates, which now hold just over 40 million of Lionsgate's common stock as the company's largest shareholder, have indicated the unsolicited tender offer is now finished, and will not be extended.
Where Icahn moves next in his battle with Lionsgate senior management is uncertain. He has promised a proxy fight at the movie and TV studio's upcoming annual shareholders meeting, likely in September.
More immediately, an end to Icahn's tender offer is expected to send Lionsgate shares southwards in price.
"Absent Icahn's tender...
- 7/1/2010
- by By Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Toronto -- Carl Icahn is Lionsgate's largest shareholder with a 31.8% stake, even as the mini-studio on Thursday declared the activist shareholder's bid to take control of the company a failure, at least so far.
"We remain confident that Carl Icahn will not obtain control of Lionsgate through its tender offer," Lionsgate said after 13.2% of company shareholders tendered into the $7.00 per-share offer from the Icahn Group.
Icahn put the value of Lionsgate shares tendered before the June 16 deadline at around $109.2-million, and added he will stop mopping up remaining company shares during a subsequent offering period on June 30.
The next step in Icahn's escalating feud with Lionsgate is a planned proxy fight at the company's upcoming shareholders meeting, likely in September in Toronto.
And Icahn's stake in Vancouver-based Lionsgate surpassing 20% puts the mini-studio potentially in default under its credit lines.
Lionsgate is currently negotiating with lenders for a waiver or amendment under its debt covenants.
"We remain confident that Carl Icahn will not obtain control of Lionsgate through its tender offer," Lionsgate said after 13.2% of company shareholders tendered into the $7.00 per-share offer from the Icahn Group.
Icahn put the value of Lionsgate shares tendered before the June 16 deadline at around $109.2-million, and added he will stop mopping up remaining company shares during a subsequent offering period on June 30.
The next step in Icahn's escalating feud with Lionsgate is a planned proxy fight at the company's upcoming shareholders meeting, likely in September in Toronto.
And Icahn's stake in Vancouver-based Lionsgate surpassing 20% puts the mini-studio potentially in default under its credit lines.
Lionsgate is currently negotiating with lenders for a waiver or amendment under its debt covenants.
- 6/17/2010
- by By Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Toronto -- Carl Icahn on Monday promised to prevail or retreat grumbling in his upcoming proxy battle for control of Lionsgate.
In what is rapidly becoming a Punch and Judy show, Icahn said he will bow out of his fight with Lionsgate if he fails to install his own slate of directors at the mini-studio's upcoming annual shareholders meeting, likely in September in Toronto.
"Hopefully our slate will prevail. If not, I have no intention of remaining an investor in Lionsgate with this management team because it has become clear to me after talking with management that we will never agree on the future of the company," Icahn added in his latest open letter to shareholders.
The activist shareholder insisted Lionsgate needed to jettison costly film production and return to film distribution and TV production.
"Lionsgate cannot succeed following a strategy of swinging for the fences with big productions and...
In what is rapidly becoming a Punch and Judy show, Icahn said he will bow out of his fight with Lionsgate if he fails to install his own slate of directors at the mini-studio's upcoming annual shareholders meeting, likely in September in Toronto.
"Hopefully our slate will prevail. If not, I have no intention of remaining an investor in Lionsgate with this management team because it has become clear to me after talking with management that we will never agree on the future of the company," Icahn added in his latest open letter to shareholders.
The activist shareholder insisted Lionsgate needed to jettison costly film production and return to film distribution and TV production.
"Lionsgate cannot succeed following a strategy of swinging for the fences with big productions and...
- 6/14/2010
- by By Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Banff, Alberta -- Never mind personal. The Lionsgate-Carl Icahn feud has turned nasty.
Vancouver-based Lionsgate in a June 14 letter to investors said the activist shareholder has a history of "value destruction and self-serving actions" after Icahn on Friday warned of a possible bankruptcy at the mini-studio (Hr, June 11).
Lionsgate lashing out at Icahn comes as the billionaire investor's current $7-per-share tender offer gets set to expire Wednesday.
The mini-studio pointed to publicly traded companies like Blockbuster, Wci Communities and Bkf Capital that allegedly saw their share value plunge after Icahn secured board representation or operational control.
"In addition to our concerns about Carl Icahn's record of value destruction, Mr. Icahn's involvement on the board of directors of Blockbuster specifically underscores serious questions about his obvious lack of knowledge and understanding of the media business," Lionsgate added.
The mini-studio even pointed to Icahn's flagship fund, Icahn Enterprises, having apparently fallen 71% in value to $38.74 from a 2007 high.
Vancouver-based Lionsgate in a June 14 letter to investors said the activist shareholder has a history of "value destruction and self-serving actions" after Icahn on Friday warned of a possible bankruptcy at the mini-studio (Hr, June 11).
Lionsgate lashing out at Icahn comes as the billionaire investor's current $7-per-share tender offer gets set to expire Wednesday.
The mini-studio pointed to publicly traded companies like Blockbuster, Wci Communities and Bkf Capital that allegedly saw their share value plunge after Icahn secured board representation or operational control.
"In addition to our concerns about Carl Icahn's record of value destruction, Mr. Icahn's involvement on the board of directors of Blockbuster specifically underscores serious questions about his obvious lack of knowledge and understanding of the media business," Lionsgate added.
The mini-studio even pointed to Icahn's flagship fund, Icahn Enterprises, having apparently fallen 71% in value to $38.74 from a 2007 high.
- 6/14/2010
- by By Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Toronto – Lionsgate on Friday urged shareholders yet again to rebuff Carl Icahn's unsolicited tender offer, now extended to June 16.
Vancouver-based Lionsgate, in an amended Schedule 14D-9 filed with U.S. securities regulators, reiterated that Icahn's $7.00 per share takeover bid is "financially inadequate and coercive."
The mini-studio also urged shareholders that have tendered their shares to the Icahn Group to withdraw them, and offered instructions on how to do so.
The latest missive to shareholders argued Lionsgate "continues to successfully execute its business strategy," as evidenced by its latest financial results unveiled earlier in the week (Hr, June 1).
"Views of Wall Street analysts have also changed to reflect a higher value for Lionsgate, and the average price target of Wall Street analysts for Lionsgate shares as of June 3, 2010 is at a 26.4% premium to the Icahn Group's offer price of U.S.$7.00 per share," the company said in a statement.
The next...
Vancouver-based Lionsgate, in an amended Schedule 14D-9 filed with U.S. securities regulators, reiterated that Icahn's $7.00 per share takeover bid is "financially inadequate and coercive."
The mini-studio also urged shareholders that have tendered their shares to the Icahn Group to withdraw them, and offered instructions on how to do so.
The latest missive to shareholders argued Lionsgate "continues to successfully execute its business strategy," as evidenced by its latest financial results unveiled earlier in the week (Hr, June 1).
"Views of Wall Street analysts have also changed to reflect a higher value for Lionsgate, and the average price target of Wall Street analysts for Lionsgate shares as of June 3, 2010 is at a 26.4% premium to the Icahn Group's offer price of U.S.$7.00 per share," the company said in a statement.
The next...
- 6/4/2010
- by By Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Toronto -- If Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer is bracing for a potential proxy fight with activist shareholder Carl Icahn, he didn't show it Wednesday morning during a post-result analyst call.
Projecting his customary coolness and control, Feltheimer ignored Icahn's proxy battle threat in prepared remarks, and instead thanked company shareholders for yet again rejecting the dissident shareholder's $7 per-share takeover offer.
"They (shareholders) clearly understand the real story. All of our businesses are performing well, our momentum is strong and our trajectory is positive," he said.
Then Feltheimer told analysts to restrict their questions to the company's latest results, even as he subtly pitched investors on how to continue voting their shares by outlining four key drivers to future Lionsgate growth: an expanding 12,000 title library, TV production, a growing channel distribution business and a theatrical film slate.
"Libraries that are replenished with fresh product work better than those that aren't," he argued,...
Projecting his customary coolness and control, Feltheimer ignored Icahn's proxy battle threat in prepared remarks, and instead thanked company shareholders for yet again rejecting the dissident shareholder's $7 per-share takeover offer.
"They (shareholders) clearly understand the real story. All of our businesses are performing well, our momentum is strong and our trajectory is positive," he said.
Then Feltheimer told analysts to restrict their questions to the company's latest results, even as he subtly pitched investors on how to continue voting their shares by outlining four key drivers to future Lionsgate growth: an expanding 12,000 title library, TV production, a growing channel distribution business and a theatrical film slate.
"Libraries that are replenished with fresh product work better than those that aren't," he argued,...
- 6/2/2010
- by By Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Carl Icahn's hostile attempt to take control of Lionsgate has been slow-going, so he has extended his deadline by 10 days.
Shareholders now have until midnight Eastern time on May 10 to tender their shares to Icahn for $7 apiece.
Icahn said that only 6.6 million shares have been tendered so far, amounting to less than 6%. He already owns about 19% of Lionsgate.
The new deadline comes two days before shareholders are to vote on a rights plan preventing the sort of takeover Icahn has in mind, but British Columbia regulators voided that plan.
Lionsgate, a Vancouver-based company, has applied to appeal the ruling and has therefore not canceled its May 12 special shareholders meeting to vote.
Icahn's $7-a-share offer values LIonsgate at about $825 million. While the stock closed at $6.92 on Friday, Icahn maintains it being propped up by his efforts to buy the company and the share price could quickly sink beneath $5 -- where it...
Shareholders now have until midnight Eastern time on May 10 to tender their shares to Icahn for $7 apiece.
Icahn said that only 6.6 million shares have been tendered so far, amounting to less than 6%. He already owns about 19% of Lionsgate.
The new deadline comes two days before shareholders are to vote on a rights plan preventing the sort of takeover Icahn has in mind, but British Columbia regulators voided that plan.
Lionsgate, a Vancouver-based company, has applied to appeal the ruling and has therefore not canceled its May 12 special shareholders meeting to vote.
Icahn's $7-a-share offer values LIonsgate at about $825 million. While the stock closed at $6.92 on Friday, Icahn maintains it being propped up by his efforts to buy the company and the share price could quickly sink beneath $5 -- where it...
- 4/30/2010
- by By Paul Bond
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Toronto -- As its proxy fight with activist shareholder Carl Icahn grinds on, Lionsgate on Thursday raised its guidance for adjusted Ebitida from $75 million to $115 million.
"Our preliminary fiscal 2010 financial results show that our strong product pipelines, coupled with the continued recovery of the retail and advertising markets, are helping our home entertainment and television businesses to outperform our previous expectations," Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer said in his latest window-dressing appeal to shareholders as they weigh Carl Icahn's unsolicited $7.00 per-share takeover bid.
Vancouver-based Lionsgate will report its fiscal 2010 results on June 1. But as it grapples with Icahn for control of the company, Lionsgate put stronger preliminary results down to its TV business, record library revenue and higher home entertainment revenue.
Lionsgate is also targeting a return to positive free cash flow in fiscal 2011.
"We remain on track to achieve the significant free cash flow generation for fiscal 2013 to 2015 of $100 million to $125 million annually,...
"Our preliminary fiscal 2010 financial results show that our strong product pipelines, coupled with the continued recovery of the retail and advertising markets, are helping our home entertainment and television businesses to outperform our previous expectations," Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer said in his latest window-dressing appeal to shareholders as they weigh Carl Icahn's unsolicited $7.00 per-share takeover bid.
Vancouver-based Lionsgate will report its fiscal 2010 results on June 1. But as it grapples with Icahn for control of the company, Lionsgate put stronger preliminary results down to its TV business, record library revenue and higher home entertainment revenue.
Lionsgate is also targeting a return to positive free cash flow in fiscal 2011.
"We remain on track to achieve the significant free cash flow generation for fiscal 2013 to 2015 of $100 million to $125 million annually,...
- 4/29/2010
- by By Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Toronto -- In its latest countermove against activist shareholder Carl Icahn, Lionsgate late Wednesday said the British Columbia Securities Commission on May 3 will hear its appeal of a decision Tuesday to annul its proposed poison pill defense.
"Lionsgate ... believes that its shareholders' right to vote is paramount and the Bcsc's decision regarding the shareholder rights plan should have been withheld until Lionsgate shareholders had the opportunity to consider and to vote at the special meeting of shareholders," the Vancouver-based indie studio said in a statement.
Company shareholders were to have voted on Lionsgate anti-takeover defense May 4 in Toronto, until the B.C. securities regulators sided with activist shareholder Carl Icahn and ruled investors can take up his $7 per share tender offer free from the threat of triggering proposed poison pill provisions.
Lionsgate has rescheduled its special Meeting of shareholders to May 12.
"Lionsgate ... believes that its shareholders' right to vote is paramount and the Bcsc's decision regarding the shareholder rights plan should have been withheld until Lionsgate shareholders had the opportunity to consider and to vote at the special meeting of shareholders," the Vancouver-based indie studio said in a statement.
Company shareholders were to have voted on Lionsgate anti-takeover defense May 4 in Toronto, until the B.C. securities regulators sided with activist shareholder Carl Icahn and ruled investors can take up his $7 per share tender offer free from the threat of triggering proposed poison pill provisions.
Lionsgate has rescheduled its special Meeting of shareholders to May 12.
- 4/28/2010
- by By Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Toronto -- Carl Icahn has turned the heat up on Lionsgate ahead of a planned poison pill defense vote by company investors next week.
The British Columbia Securities Commission on Monday took up Icahn's March 24 application to "terminate" the impact of Lionsgate's proposed shareholders rights plan before a May 4 shareholders meeting in Toronto to vote on the anti-takeover measure.
And Icahn pointed to proxy advisory firm Proxy Governance urging Lionsgate shareholders to vote against the company's defensive tactics next week. "I am gratified to see that Pgi agrees with our view that shareholders -- free from impediments such as poison pills that serve merely as entrenchment devices - should have the right to decide for themselves whether they wish to sell their shares in our tender offer," Icahn said in a statement.
Proxy advisory firm RiskMetrics Group also came out against the Lionsgate poison pill plan last week. Lionsgate has...
The British Columbia Securities Commission on Monday took up Icahn's March 24 application to "terminate" the impact of Lionsgate's proposed shareholders rights plan before a May 4 shareholders meeting in Toronto to vote on the anti-takeover measure.
And Icahn pointed to proxy advisory firm Proxy Governance urging Lionsgate shareholders to vote against the company's defensive tactics next week. "I am gratified to see that Pgi agrees with our view that shareholders -- free from impediments such as poison pills that serve merely as entrenchment devices - should have the right to decide for themselves whether they wish to sell their shares in our tender offer," Icahn said in a statement.
Proxy advisory firm RiskMetrics Group also came out against the Lionsgate poison pill plan last week. Lionsgate has...
- 4/26/2010
- by By Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Toronto -- Lionsgate has opened its poison pill defense ballot in Toronto next month to a new voter: Carl Icahn.
Vancouver-based Lionsgate on Friday indicated it has amended its March 26 proxy statement to allow its anti-takeover shareholder rights plan to fail if a simple majority of votes are cast against it. Previously, a majority of "independent shareholders," excluding Icahn and his current 19% voting block, was required.
The revision, outlined in a schedule 14A document filed with SEC authorities Friday, means Icahn can now vote on the proposed poison pill at a scheduled special shareholders plan in Toronto on May 4.
"We listen carefully to what our shareholders are saying, and we believe this was a revision many of them wanted to see," a Lionsgate spokesman said Friday.
The proxy vote amendment also comes as Lionsgate continues to distinguish its Canadian-originating poison pill from U.S. style shareholder rights plans, which have different triggers and sunset provisions.
Vancouver-based Lionsgate on Friday indicated it has amended its March 26 proxy statement to allow its anti-takeover shareholder rights plan to fail if a simple majority of votes are cast against it. Previously, a majority of "independent shareholders," excluding Icahn and his current 19% voting block, was required.
The revision, outlined in a schedule 14A document filed with SEC authorities Friday, means Icahn can now vote on the proposed poison pill at a scheduled special shareholders plan in Toronto on May 4.
"We listen carefully to what our shareholders are saying, and we believe this was a revision many of them wanted to see," a Lionsgate spokesman said Friday.
The proxy vote amendment also comes as Lionsgate continues to distinguish its Canadian-originating poison pill from U.S. style shareholder rights plans, which have different triggers and sunset provisions.
- 4/23/2010
- by By Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Toronto -- No surprise here. Lionsgate has urged investors to reject activist shareholder Carl Icahn's latest $7.00 per share bid for the indie studio as opportunistic and coercive.
In a new pitch to shareholders after mulling Icahn's raised offer from April 15, Vancouver-based Lionsgate recommended that they not tender their stock and repeated support for a proposed shareholders rights plan to be voted on in Toronto on May 4.
If Lionsgate is feeling heat from Icahn's 17% increase in his offer price, it didn't show it as it denounced the latest unsolicited bid for corporate control.
"We believe that the Icahn Group's offer remains financially inadequate and does not reflect the full value of Lionsgate shares," Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer said Wednesday.
"We believe that the offer pales in comparison to the value inherent in the world class platform we have established over the past ten years," he added.
Lionsgate repeated earlier arguments to reject Icahn's takeover offer,...
In a new pitch to shareholders after mulling Icahn's raised offer from April 15, Vancouver-based Lionsgate recommended that they not tender their stock and repeated support for a proposed shareholders rights plan to be voted on in Toronto on May 4.
If Lionsgate is feeling heat from Icahn's 17% increase in his offer price, it didn't show it as it denounced the latest unsolicited bid for corporate control.
"We believe that the Icahn Group's offer remains financially inadequate and does not reflect the full value of Lionsgate shares," Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer said Wednesday.
"We believe that the offer pales in comparison to the value inherent in the world class platform we have established over the past ten years," he added.
Lionsgate repeated earlier arguments to reject Icahn's takeover offer,...
- 4/21/2010
- by By Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Lionsgate is attracting even more attention from high-profile billionaires.
Carl Icahn on Thursday upped his bid to purchase a controlling stake in the company -- if not the whole thing -- and Mark Cuban disclosed that he has paid $28 million for 5.4% of the company.
Icahn raised his offer from $6 a share to $7, causing the stock to leap 8% in after-hours trading Thursday to $6.89.
Whether Cuban's intent is to continue collecting shares while angling for some sort of say in how the mini-major film and TV studio operates or merely to flip his stock for a quick buck remains to be seen. He purchased his shares on the open market between March 23-April 8, paying $5.95-$6.23 a share, so he already has a healthy profit.
It's notable, though, that Icahn and Cuban have an existing business relationship. When Icahn launched a poxy war with Yahoo two years ago, one of his nominees to the Yahoo board was Cuban.
Carl Icahn on Thursday upped his bid to purchase a controlling stake in the company -- if not the whole thing -- and Mark Cuban disclosed that he has paid $28 million for 5.4% of the company.
Icahn raised his offer from $6 a share to $7, causing the stock to leap 8% in after-hours trading Thursday to $6.89.
Whether Cuban's intent is to continue collecting shares while angling for some sort of say in how the mini-major film and TV studio operates or merely to flip his stock for a quick buck remains to be seen. He purchased his shares on the open market between March 23-April 8, paying $5.95-$6.23 a share, so he already has a healthy profit.
It's notable, though, that Icahn and Cuban have an existing business relationship. When Icahn launched a poxy war with Yahoo two years ago, one of his nominees to the Yahoo board was Cuban.
- 4/15/2010
- by By Paul Bond
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Toronto -- Locked in a battle with activist shareholder Carl Icahn, Lionsgate on Friday said a proxy advisory firm, Glass Lewis & Co., is recommending that investors vote in favor of the company's proposed poison pill defense.
"...We believe that the Rights Plan may serve to protect shareholder interests in the event that a takeover bid does not reflect the full value of the Company's shares or is coercive," New York-based Glass Lewis & Co. said in an April 8 report.
Institutional investors participating in shareholder votes weigh recommendations from proxy advisory firms, and Lionsgate shareholders are set to gather in Toronto on May 4 to vote on a poison pill defense to fend off an unsolicited $6.00 per-share takeover bid from Icahn.
Lionsgate's anti-takeover shareholder rights plan will be triggered if an investor with more than a 20% stake attempts buy up more shares, and will make it more expensive for them to do so.
"...We believe that the Rights Plan may serve to protect shareholder interests in the event that a takeover bid does not reflect the full value of the Company's shares or is coercive," New York-based Glass Lewis & Co. said in an April 8 report.
Institutional investors participating in shareholder votes weigh recommendations from proxy advisory firms, and Lionsgate shareholders are set to gather in Toronto on May 4 to vote on a poison pill defense to fend off an unsolicited $6.00 per-share takeover bid from Icahn.
Lionsgate's anti-takeover shareholder rights plan will be triggered if an investor with more than a 20% stake attempts buy up more shares, and will make it more expensive for them to do so.
- 4/9/2010
- by By Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Activist investor Carl Icahn dissolved his Class B stake in Blockbuster Inc. and further reduced his ownership in Class A shares of the video rental company, according to a regulatory filing.
Icahn, who held 5.65% of Class B shares in the company last week, has sold all his Class B holdings, the filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission showed.
On Tuesday, Icahn sold 48,234 shares of Class A stock at 25 cents each, bringing down his ownership to 3.5%, or about 5.2 million Class A shares.
The billionaire investor, who once owned nearly 17% shares of Class A stock in Blockbuster, has been reducing his ownership after the company said on March 16 that it might seek bankruptcy protection.
Last week, he reduced his Class A ownership to 3.77% and his Class B share stake to 5.65%.
Blockbuster shares closed at 30 cents Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange.
Icahn, who held 5.65% of Class B shares in the company last week, has sold all his Class B holdings, the filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission showed.
On Tuesday, Icahn sold 48,234 shares of Class A stock at 25 cents each, bringing down his ownership to 3.5%, or about 5.2 million Class A shares.
The billionaire investor, who once owned nearly 17% shares of Class A stock in Blockbuster, has been reducing his ownership after the company said on March 16 that it might seek bankruptcy protection.
Last week, he reduced his Class A ownership to 3.77% and his Class B share stake to 5.65%.
Blockbuster shares closed at 30 cents Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange.
- 4/8/2010
- by By Suzannah Benjamin, Reuters
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Toronto -- A successful takeover of Lionsgate by activist shareholder Carl Icahn will put the indie studio's credit rating at risk, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services warned Thursday.
"We could lower the rating if the company takes actions that cause its credit measures to deteriorate from their already weak levels, or if the tender offer succeeds and it appears unlikely that the banks and bondholders will grant a waiver," S&P said in a statement after Icahn and Lionsgate executives this week escalated their war of words over Icahn's $6-per-share bid for all outstanding stock in the Vancouver-based studio.
Icahn taking control of Lionsgate could trigger a default of the studio's banking covenants if a waiver is not secured.
Lionsgate earlier this week dismissed Icahn's unsolicited $6-per-share offer for a second time, calling it too low.
Rival ratings agency Moody's Investors Service on March 16 said Icahn's original tender offer to take...
"We could lower the rating if the company takes actions that cause its credit measures to deteriorate from their already weak levels, or if the tender offer succeeds and it appears unlikely that the banks and bondholders will grant a waiver," S&P said in a statement after Icahn and Lionsgate executives this week escalated their war of words over Icahn's $6-per-share bid for all outstanding stock in the Vancouver-based studio.
Icahn taking control of Lionsgate could trigger a default of the studio's banking covenants if a waiver is not secured.
Lionsgate earlier this week dismissed Icahn's unsolicited $6-per-share offer for a second time, calling it too low.
Rival ratings agency Moody's Investors Service on March 16 said Icahn's original tender offer to take...
- 3/25/2010
- by By Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Toronto -- Lionsgate has rejected activist shareholder Carl Icahn's $6.00 per-share hostile takeover bid.
Vancouver-based Lionsgate said its board of directors concluded Icahn's amended tender offer was "financially inadequate and coercive," and should be rejected by shareholders.
Shares in Lionsgate were up 3% in pre-market trading to $5.98 on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday, just below Icahn's $6.00 offer price for all of the company's outstanding common shares unveiled last week.
Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer, based in Santa Monica, in a statement dismissed Icahn's amended tender offer as aiming to seize control of the indie studio without paying a control premium.
"We believe that nothing has changed -- the offer remains financially inadequate and still does not reflect the full value of Lionsgate shares," Feltheimer said in a statement.
A successful takeover will require a far higher offer price, Lionsgate said as it pointed to an average price target of...
Vancouver-based Lionsgate said its board of directors concluded Icahn's amended tender offer was "financially inadequate and coercive," and should be rejected by shareholders.
Shares in Lionsgate were up 3% in pre-market trading to $5.98 on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday, just below Icahn's $6.00 offer price for all of the company's outstanding common shares unveiled last week.
Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer, based in Santa Monica, in a statement dismissed Icahn's amended tender offer as aiming to seize control of the indie studio without paying a control premium.
"We believe that nothing has changed -- the offer remains financially inadequate and still does not reflect the full value of Lionsgate shares," Feltheimer said in a statement.
A successful takeover will require a far higher offer price, Lionsgate said as it pointed to an average price target of...
- 3/23/2010
- by By Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Toronto -- Activist shareholder Carl Icahn has turned his $6 a-share tender offer into a hostile takeover bid for Lionsgate.
The amended offer to purchase "up to all" of Lionsgate's outstanding shares comes a week after senior management at Lionsgate recommended shareholders rebuff Icahn's latest overture for control and influence of the Vancouver-based indie studio.
"Due to management's recent actions, I am now convinced that Lionsgate shareholders will never have the right to make important decisions," Icahn said Friday in a statement.
As the gloves come off, Icahn also said his Icahn Group will go to court to block a poison pill defense adopted by Lionsgate last week.
"The adoption of the poison pill represented a failure of certain conditions to the offer," Icahn said, opening the way for the amendment to launch a hostile takeover bid.
Icahn is looking to take his stake in Lionsgate from 19% currently to just below...
The amended offer to purchase "up to all" of Lionsgate's outstanding shares comes a week after senior management at Lionsgate recommended shareholders rebuff Icahn's latest overture for control and influence of the Vancouver-based indie studio.
"Due to management's recent actions, I am now convinced that Lionsgate shareholders will never have the right to make important decisions," Icahn said Friday in a statement.
As the gloves come off, Icahn also said his Icahn Group will go to court to block a poison pill defense adopted by Lionsgate last week.
"The adoption of the poison pill represented a failure of certain conditions to the offer," Icahn said, opening the way for the amendment to launch a hostile takeover bid.
Icahn is looking to take his stake in Lionsgate from 19% currently to just below...
- 3/19/2010
- by By Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Carl Icahn is seeking more control over Lionsgate by significantly upping his investment in the company, a strategy that could derail any designs the mini-major might have on MGM or Miramax.
Icahn already owns 18.9% of Lionsgate but wants to increase it to 29.9%, so he plans a tender offer of $6 per share for more than 13 million additional shares. The offer price amounts to a 15% premium to where the stock closed on Friday.
When Icahn's plans were made public Tuesday, the stock spiked 9%, closing the day 5% higher at $5.48.
Icahn intends to make his offer conditional on Lionsgate not entering into any material transaction outside of the ordinary course of business, which includes shelling out more than $100 million for an acquisition.
Lionsgate, though, has already bid about $1.5 billion for MGM, and it is also interested in MIramax, which Disney is shopping for about $700 million. Presumably, then, Icahn might deem them both too pricey.
Icahn already owns 18.9% of Lionsgate but wants to increase it to 29.9%, so he plans a tender offer of $6 per share for more than 13 million additional shares. The offer price amounts to a 15% premium to where the stock closed on Friday.
When Icahn's plans were made public Tuesday, the stock spiked 9%, closing the day 5% higher at $5.48.
Icahn intends to make his offer conditional on Lionsgate not entering into any material transaction outside of the ordinary course of business, which includes shelling out more than $100 million for an acquisition.
Lionsgate, though, has already bid about $1.5 billion for MGM, and it is also interested in MIramax, which Disney is shopping for about $700 million. Presumably, then, Icahn might deem them both too pricey.
- 2/16/2010
- by By Paul Bond
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Five years ago when Blockbuster stock was near $10 a share, Carl Icahn successfully fought his way on to the video chain’s board of directors. According to a filing Monday, Icahn has quit, with the stock trading at just 48 cents.
Icahn said he left to comply with guidelines from Institutional Shareholder Services that dictate how many directorships he should hold.
Icahn persuaded shareholders to put him on the board with Strauss Zelnick and Edward Bleier during a proxy battle in 2005 marked by tough criticism of then-ceo John Antioco.
Antioco left Blockbuster in 2007, and Zelnick and Bleier still are directors. The CEO is Jim Keyes, who was CEO of 7-Eleven when that company was sold and taken private.
Reflected in the decimation of its own stock price and the possibility that Movie Gallery again could go bankrupt, Blockbuster is facing massive competition from Netflix and Redbox. In regard to the latter,...
Icahn said he left to comply with guidelines from Institutional Shareholder Services that dictate how many directorships he should hold.
Icahn persuaded shareholders to put him on the board with Strauss Zelnick and Edward Bleier during a proxy battle in 2005 marked by tough criticism of then-ceo John Antioco.
Antioco left Blockbuster in 2007, and Zelnick and Bleier still are directors. The CEO is Jim Keyes, who was CEO of 7-Eleven when that company was sold and taken private.
Reflected in the decimation of its own stock price and the possibility that Movie Gallery again could go bankrupt, Blockbuster is facing massive competition from Netflix and Redbox. In regard to the latter,...
- 2/1/2010
- by By Paul Bond
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Relativity Media, the former hedge fund that has been cofinancing 75% of Universal films through 2011 and was going to provide 50% of the budget for ten to fifteen films from 2011 to 2015 is now negotiating to buy out Universal's genre division Rogue Pictures which Focus Features began in 2004. They will distribute the four upcoming films and more than 30 projects in development through Universal. They will also have more than 25 library titles. This former hedge fund, now going legit as a producer is one of several similar developments. Relativity is said to be “ fairly insulated from the current problems in the marketplace because it is largely invested in media companies. Relativity’s N.Y. based hedge fund backer Elliott Associates who has investments far from any of the troubled sectors has invested some $1 billion in Relavitity Media to expand its single picture business as well as acquire assets, libraries, video games, TV and new media assets.” An additional $1.5 billion to extend its Universal cofinancing through 2015 allows it to choose from Universals’ entire slate and finance 50% of them from 2011-15 as opposed to its current deal in which they finance 75%.
Now that the Dreamworks' Reliance financing has come through with $550,000,000 in equity and $700,000,000 from JP Morgan Chase, it’s noticeable how the other studios are teaming up with Indian financing to do local production. Disney in India will produce four features and Fox Star has a multifilm deal with Vipul Amrutlal Shah.
Cinecitta Studios in Italy is now open to acquisition, and Carl Icahn has just taken a 9.2% stake in Lionsgate by purchasing more than 4 million shares (which had fallen 24% in the month of October before rallying 6% Monday October 20. After Icahn's purchase price of shares jumped 8%).
The trend will continue as the studios struggle to seek cash e.g., Paramount's Redstone's selling $400 million shares in Viacom and CBS to raise money to pay for debts at his holding company, National Amusements, after DreamWorks moved out and as cash seeks new outlets.
Asian filmmakers are advised to seek financing for international sales by being multi cultural. The Weinstein Company’s TWC Fund for example will finance pictures set in Asia but which can be shot elsewhere. The director must be born in Asia. TWC has no development financing but needs a complete package including script, talent attachments, director and estimates.
RGM, a Singapore-based executive production and packaging group form an Australian source recently raised $400,000,0000 to make around 10 pictures with a budget of $40,000,000 over the next four years which will include Jan de Bont’s ‘Point Break 2’. They prefer English language, a North American release set and a minimum of 30% of the budget covered by presales. They also have development financing.
Irresistible Films, a joint vernture between Avex, Edko and Hong Kong financier Hugh Simon, is geared toward upcoming talent and will finance commercial films in the $1,000,000 to $3,000,000 range, will not finance development but will team the director with senior producers and will retain final cut.
Now that the Dreamworks' Reliance financing has come through with $550,000,000 in equity and $700,000,000 from JP Morgan Chase, it’s noticeable how the other studios are teaming up with Indian financing to do local production. Disney in India will produce four features and Fox Star has a multifilm deal with Vipul Amrutlal Shah.
Cinecitta Studios in Italy is now open to acquisition, and Carl Icahn has just taken a 9.2% stake in Lionsgate by purchasing more than 4 million shares (which had fallen 24% in the month of October before rallying 6% Monday October 20. After Icahn's purchase price of shares jumped 8%).
The trend will continue as the studios struggle to seek cash e.g., Paramount's Redstone's selling $400 million shares in Viacom and CBS to raise money to pay for debts at his holding company, National Amusements, after DreamWorks moved out and as cash seeks new outlets.
Asian filmmakers are advised to seek financing for international sales by being multi cultural. The Weinstein Company’s TWC Fund for example will finance pictures set in Asia but which can be shot elsewhere. The director must be born in Asia. TWC has no development financing but needs a complete package including script, talent attachments, director and estimates.
RGM, a Singapore-based executive production and packaging group form an Australian source recently raised $400,000,0000 to make around 10 pictures with a budget of $40,000,000 over the next four years which will include Jan de Bont’s ‘Point Break 2’. They prefer English language, a North American release set and a minimum of 30% of the budget covered by presales. They also have development financing.
Irresistible Films, a joint vernture between Avex, Edko and Hong Kong financier Hugh Simon, is geared toward upcoming talent and will finance commercial films in the $1,000,000 to $3,000,000 range, will not finance development but will team the director with senior producers and will retain final cut.
- 10/22/2008
- Sydney's Buzz
New York -- Microsoft Corp. on Monday officially aligned itself with dissident Yahoo shareholder Carl Icahn in his effort to oust CEO Jerry Yang and other board members of the Internet company early next month.
Yahoo has scheduled its annual shareholder meeting for Aug. 1, where Icahn hopes to win a majority vote for an alternative slate of directors he recently proposed that includes such media and entertainment dignitaries as Frank Biondi, Robert Shaye and Mark Cuban.
Microsoft said it "would be interested in discussing with a new board a major transaction with Yahoo, such as either a transaction to purchase the 'search' function with large financial guarantees or, in the alternative, purchasing the whole company."
Microsoft had so far kept his distance from Icahn. But after talks between CEO Steve Ballmer and the former corporate raider last week, the firm concluded that an Icahn-controlled Yahoo is most likely to agree to a deal.
Indeed, Icahn said in an open letter Monday that he and Ballmer had spoken "frequently" during the past week, with some conversations that "lasted as long as an hour."
Icahn said that under his plans, he would "ask the board to bring in a talented and experienced CEO to replace Jerry Yang and return Jerry to his role as 'Chief Yahoo.' " Google has had success with a similar management setup, he argued.
Yahoo hit back Monday, saying its board "continues to stand ready to enter into negotiations with Microsoft Corp. for an acquisition of Yahoo." But it argued that an Icahn-Microsoft deal "would not lead to an outcome that would be in the best interests of Yahoo's stockholders."
Yahoo shares jumped 12% Monday to 23.91 on the prospect of a possible sale.
Yahoo has scheduled its annual shareholder meeting for Aug. 1, where Icahn hopes to win a majority vote for an alternative slate of directors he recently proposed that includes such media and entertainment dignitaries as Frank Biondi, Robert Shaye and Mark Cuban.
Microsoft said it "would be interested in discussing with a new board a major transaction with Yahoo, such as either a transaction to purchase the 'search' function with large financial guarantees or, in the alternative, purchasing the whole company."
Microsoft had so far kept his distance from Icahn. But after talks between CEO Steve Ballmer and the former corporate raider last week, the firm concluded that an Icahn-controlled Yahoo is most likely to agree to a deal.
Indeed, Icahn said in an open letter Monday that he and Ballmer had spoken "frequently" during the past week, with some conversations that "lasted as long as an hour."
Icahn said that under his plans, he would "ask the board to bring in a talented and experienced CEO to replace Jerry Yang and return Jerry to his role as 'Chief Yahoo.' " Google has had success with a similar management setup, he argued.
Yahoo hit back Monday, saying its board "continues to stand ready to enter into negotiations with Microsoft Corp. for an acquisition of Yahoo." But it argued that an Icahn-Microsoft deal "would not lead to an outcome that would be in the best interests of Yahoo's stockholders."
Yahoo shares jumped 12% Monday to 23.91 on the prospect of a possible sale.
- 7/7/2008
- by By Georg Szalai
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Yahoo shares fell below the $20 mark during Tuesday's first trading session of the second half of the year, while a team of influential analysts suggested that a takeover of AOL could make sense for the Internet giant.
Yahoo shares fell as low as $19.59 before closing down 2.2% at $20.20. That gave the company a market value of $27.79 billion, according to Bloomberg. The stock hadn't traded below $20 since a $31-per-share buyout offer by software giant Microsoft first became public Feb. 1.
Tuesday's decline moved shares of Yahoo -- whose shareholders will vote next month on a slate of board members proposed by management and a competing slate nominated by dissident shareholder Carl Icahn -- closer to their 52-week low of $18.58, which it hit Jan. 30.
Meanwhile, Citigroup Global Markets released a report dated Friday in which analysts Jason Bazinet and Mark Mahaney called an acquisition of Time Warner's AOL by Yahoo a possibility.
Among the key advantages to such a deal, they cited $900 million in annual synergies -- mainly driven by cost savings -- Yahoo's "clear interest in remaining independent" and the chance for Tw to gain Internet scale via a passive stake in the merged entity.
Bazinet estimated that AOL could fetch a price tag of $8 billion-$12 billion, thereby creating 33 cents-$3.45 per Tw share in upside value potential.
In December 2005, Google bought a 5% stake in AOL for $1 billion, thereby valuing all of AOL at $20 billion.
For Yahoo's stock, an AOL deal would be mixed, with investors' reaction likely to be "muted," the Citi analysts argued. "Share of synergies could be worth between 74 cents and $3.06 per Yahoo share," they said. "However, (the) transaction would likely remove any remaining Microsoft-inspired M&A premium (of about $2 per share)."
Meanwhile, Yahoo has its hands full trying to get antitrust regulators to sign off on its pact with Google. The partnership, if approved, would have Google deliver advertising to searches made on Yahoo.
That deal could provide Yahoo with as much as $450 million in additional operating cash flow and help prove to investors that Yahoo's claims of being undervalued by Microsoft are accurate.
Georg Szalai reported from New York; Paul Bond reported from Los Angeles.
Yahoo shares fell as low as $19.59 before closing down 2.2% at $20.20. That gave the company a market value of $27.79 billion, according to Bloomberg. The stock hadn't traded below $20 since a $31-per-share buyout offer by software giant Microsoft first became public Feb. 1.
Tuesday's decline moved shares of Yahoo -- whose shareholders will vote next month on a slate of board members proposed by management and a competing slate nominated by dissident shareholder Carl Icahn -- closer to their 52-week low of $18.58, which it hit Jan. 30.
Meanwhile, Citigroup Global Markets released a report dated Friday in which analysts Jason Bazinet and Mark Mahaney called an acquisition of Time Warner's AOL by Yahoo a possibility.
Among the key advantages to such a deal, they cited $900 million in annual synergies -- mainly driven by cost savings -- Yahoo's "clear interest in remaining independent" and the chance for Tw to gain Internet scale via a passive stake in the merged entity.
Bazinet estimated that AOL could fetch a price tag of $8 billion-$12 billion, thereby creating 33 cents-$3.45 per Tw share in upside value potential.
In December 2005, Google bought a 5% stake in AOL for $1 billion, thereby valuing all of AOL at $20 billion.
For Yahoo's stock, an AOL deal would be mixed, with investors' reaction likely to be "muted," the Citi analysts argued. "Share of synergies could be worth between 74 cents and $3.06 per Yahoo share," they said. "However, (the) transaction would likely remove any remaining Microsoft-inspired M&A premium (of about $2 per share)."
Meanwhile, Yahoo has its hands full trying to get antitrust regulators to sign off on its pact with Google. The partnership, if approved, would have Google deliver advertising to searches made on Yahoo.
That deal could provide Yahoo with as much as $450 million in additional operating cash flow and help prove to investors that Yahoo's claims of being undervalued by Microsoft are accurate.
Georg Szalai reported from New York; Paul Bond reported from Los Angeles.
- 7/1/2008
- by By Georg Szalai and Paul Bond
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The proxy battle for Yahoo got more hostile Monday when Carl Icahn fired off a letter accusing management of misleading employees and failing its investors.
Icahn's letter to Roy Bostock takes the Yahoo chairman to task for making "approximately $10,000 per week last year -- not bad for a board member. I believe most of your shareholders would be interested in seeing your time sheets."
Icahn seeks to replace the Yahoo board with his own slate that includes himself and such media moguls as Frank Biondi, Mark Cuban and Robert Shaye, but Yahoo on Monday advised shareholders against such drastic measures.
"Icahn has no credible plan except to sell the company to Microsoft -- despite the fact that Microsoft has publicly indicated that it has no current interest in such a transaction," Bostock and CEO Jerry Yang wrote in a letter to shareholders.
The pair called Yahoo's Aug. 1 annual meeting, where votes for directors will be cast, "the most important for stockholders in our history."
Bostock and Yang argue that a $40 billion worldwide online advertising industry will grow to $75 billion in 2010 and that Yahoo is well-positioned to capture a significant chunk of that growth, so much so that Microsoft's now-rescinded bid of $33 per share was woefully inadequate.
Icahn's letter to Roy Bostock takes the Yahoo chairman to task for making "approximately $10,000 per week last year -- not bad for a board member. I believe most of your shareholders would be interested in seeing your time sheets."
Icahn seeks to replace the Yahoo board with his own slate that includes himself and such media moguls as Frank Biondi, Mark Cuban and Robert Shaye, but Yahoo on Monday advised shareholders against such drastic measures.
"Icahn has no credible plan except to sell the company to Microsoft -- despite the fact that Microsoft has publicly indicated that it has no current interest in such a transaction," Bostock and CEO Jerry Yang wrote in a letter to shareholders.
The pair called Yahoo's Aug. 1 annual meeting, where votes for directors will be cast, "the most important for stockholders in our history."
Bostock and Yang argue that a $40 billion worldwide online advertising industry will grow to $75 billion in 2010 and that Yahoo is well-positioned to capture a significant chunk of that growth, so much so that Microsoft's now-rescinded bid of $33 per share was woefully inadequate.
Yahoo, which recently couldn't persuade Microsoft to bid $37 per share to be acquired by the software giant, turned down a $40-per-share bid 15 months ago.
The revelation of Microsoft's larger, rebuffed offer in January 2007 comes courtesy of previously sealed documents that a judge, in response to a shareholder lawsuit against Yahoo, ordered be unsealed.
Microsoft recently yanked its $33-per-share bid to acquire Yahoo, causing some shareholders to sue and encouraging investor Carl Icahn to buy up shares and launch a proxy battle.
Also revealed in the documents are indications that Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang, presumably in an effort to thwart Microsoft, tried to push through a severance plan that could have cost Microsoft more than $2 billion if it were to purchase Yahoo.
Adopted Feb. 12, the program guarantees payments to 13,800 Yahoo employees -- under conditions -- if they were fired or they quit within two years of Microsoft taking over the company.
The revelation of Microsoft's larger, rebuffed offer in January 2007 comes courtesy of previously sealed documents that a judge, in response to a shareholder lawsuit against Yahoo, ordered be unsealed.
Microsoft recently yanked its $33-per-share bid to acquire Yahoo, causing some shareholders to sue and encouraging investor Carl Icahn to buy up shares and launch a proxy battle.
Also revealed in the documents are indications that Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang, presumably in an effort to thwart Microsoft, tried to push through a severance plan that could have cost Microsoft more than $2 billion if it were to purchase Yahoo.
Adopted Feb. 12, the program guarantees payments to 13,800 Yahoo employees -- under conditions -- if they were fired or they quit within two years of Microsoft taking over the company.
The Nasdaq climbed 4.6% in May and The Hollywood Reporter Showbiz 50 index was up 5.5%. The rising tide didn't raise all the new-media boats, though.
Reluctant to participate in the month's rally, for example, were satellite radio firms Sirius and XM, down 4.7%% and 1.9%, respectively, despite their bullish intentions to merge. And Yahoo was off 2.4% to $26.76 even though financier Carl Icahn is hoping to force a sale of the company for at least $33 a share.
And video game sales presumably are going gangbusters with Nintendo's "Wii Fit" and Take-Two Interactive Software's "Grand Theft Auto IV" flying off of store shelves, but investors might not know it by skittish video game stocks.
Electronic Arts fell 2.5% in May and Midway Games was off 15%, while THQ was up fractionally and Activision was up a hefty 24.8%.
THQ's gain came despite the bad news that its "Saints Row 2" game was being delayed from an August release to October. And Activision, according to Seeking Alpha, is one of the most respected stocks among Wall Street analysts, with 92% of the 25 who cover the stock calling it a "buy."
Take-Two, propped up by an unsolicited offer from EA, rose 3.2% to $27.07, higher than EA's bid of $25.74 per share.
The grandest of all new-media companies, Google and Apple, also saw their shares lift in May to the tune of 2% and 9.1%, respectively.
Reluctant to participate in the month's rally, for example, were satellite radio firms Sirius and XM, down 4.7%% and 1.9%, respectively, despite their bullish intentions to merge. And Yahoo was off 2.4% to $26.76 even though financier Carl Icahn is hoping to force a sale of the company for at least $33 a share.
And video game sales presumably are going gangbusters with Nintendo's "Wii Fit" and Take-Two Interactive Software's "Grand Theft Auto IV" flying off of store shelves, but investors might not know it by skittish video game stocks.
Electronic Arts fell 2.5% in May and Midway Games was off 15%, while THQ was up fractionally and Activision was up a hefty 24.8%.
THQ's gain came despite the bad news that its "Saints Row 2" game was being delayed from an August release to October. And Activision, according to Seeking Alpha, is one of the most respected stocks among Wall Street analysts, with 92% of the 25 who cover the stock calling it a "buy."
Take-Two, propped up by an unsolicited offer from EA, rose 3.2% to $27.07, higher than EA's bid of $25.74 per share.
The grandest of all new-media companies, Google and Apple, also saw their shares lift in May to the tune of 2% and 9.1%, respectively.
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