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 The move comes a week after Lions Gate rejected Icahn's offer to take a larger stake and wrote a so-called poison pill into its bylaws that would make such a takeover attempt more difficult. Shareholders are expected to approve the measure in May, but Icahn said Friday that he will challenge it in court.
Icahn owns almost 19 percent of Lions Gate and made a tender offer of $6 a share last month that would have raised his stake to nearly 30 percent. But the company opposed the offer, saying it would have given him too much say in major decisions. The company's board also called Icahn's unsolicited offer "inadequate."
Icahn left his offer at $6 per share on Friday. Lions Gate had about 117.8 million shares outstanding as of Feb. 1, according to a recent securities filing, which would put the total value of Icahn's bid at roughly $707 million.
The tussle between Icahn and Lions Gate management has been going on for a year and comes as Lions Gate is contemplating an acquisition of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. studio and The Walt Disney Co.'s Miramax Films division.
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 Icahn is looking to put the brakes on the studio's spending and, in a statement Friday, argued against buying another film library
- the rights to older movies. Both MGM and Miramax have scores of titles in their vaults.
"I believe library values are currently declining due to, in part, weak DVD sales," he said, arguing that shareholders should have a chance to vote on whether such an acquisition is wise.
Messages left with a Lions Gate spokesman were not immediately returned.
The company's stock was down 2 cents to $5.95 in morning trading Friday.
[Associated
Press]
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