2nd UPDATE: Proxy Firms Critical Of Lions Gate, Wary Of Icahn
10 12월 2010 - 7:33AM
Dow Jones News
Lions Gate Entertainment Inc. (LGF) received harsh criticism
from three shareholder advisory firms that collectively offered
partial support for billionaire investor Carl Icahn in his proxy
battle with the film and television production company.
Icahn, who has been waging a hostile takeover effort at Lions
Gate this year, nominated a slate of five directors to replace
incumbents on the film company's 12-member board at its annual
meeting Tuesday. Lions Gate opposes Icahn's slate, and it appears
to have the upper hand in the vote, but recommendations from the
proxy advisory firms could tip the balance in favor of either
party.
Three firms--Institutional Shareholder Services, Glass Lewis
& Co, and Egan-Jones--have all weighed in with critical
assessments of Lions Gate's performance and its corporate
governance. ISS offered partial support to Icahn's slate, while
Egan-Jones recommended full support and Glass Lewis recommended
voting against all his nominees.
Shares of Lions Gate closed up 5 cents to $7.36 on Thursday.
ISS said Icahn has "demonstrated that change is needed in the
boardroom." The firm, however, only supported three of Icahn's five
nominees, noting that a majority of shareholders have found Icahn's
latest tender offer of $7.50 a share for the company too low and
his full nominee slate is one seat short of control of the
company.
ISS also recommended withholding support for two of Lions Gate's
directors--Arthur Evrensel and Daryl Simm--citing an excessive
severance arrangement for Lions Gate Chief Executive Jon Feltheimer
they approved on the company's compensation committee.
Glass Lewis offers no support for the dissident slate, saying
Icahn lacks a clear plan to rejuvenate the company. Nor does it
give a vote of confidence in Lions Gate. The firm gives Lions Gate
an F-grade for executive compensation, based on its
pay-for-performance model, and it recommends withholding support
for Feltheimer, who is Lions Gate's co-chairman.
All three firms paint a bleak picture of Lions Gate's operating
and stock performance. They are also critical of a recent
debt-to-equity deal the company did with its second-largest
shareholder, Mark Rachesky, who is also a board member, which
diluted the holdings of Icahn and other shareholders and boosted
Rachesky's stake.
"In our view, the calculated intention to dilute the holdings of
(Icahn) paints an image of entrenched board in a relatively weak
position," Glass Lewis said.
Late Thursday, a New York court declined Icahn's request for a
preliminary injunction that would have blocked Rachesky's ability
to vote his shares resulting from the deal in question. The court
said Lions Gate has committed to hold another shareholder meeting
within 10 months, giving Icahn's lawsuit a chance to play out in
full.
In a statement hailing the ruling, Lions Gate said that "the
transaction, which resulted in the reduction of Lionsgate's debt by
approximately $100 million, supported the best interests of the
company and its shareholders."
Notably, ISS didn't recommend support for Icahn nominee Chris
McGurk, a former executive with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., a film
studio that is viewed as an attractive merger target for Lions Gate
by both Icahn and the company's management team. The firm
recommended votes for Daniel A. Ninivaggi, Michael Dornemann and
Jay Firestone--all Icahn nominees.
Ninivaggi is an attorney at Icahn's firm and a former executive
at auto-parts maker Lear Corp. (LEA). Dornemann, vice chairman of
the marketing company Access Worldwide Communications Inc. (AWWC),
is a director at videogame maker Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.
(TTWO), where Icahn holds a 14% stake. Firestone founded Fireworks
Entertainment Inc., an independent production company sold to
CanWest Global Communications Corp. in 1998.
Icahn, through a series of tender offers, has become Lions
Gate's largest shareholder with a nearly 33% stake in the company.
With over 45% of the vote locked up by Lions Gate insiders and
institutional holders that have so far been supportive of the
company, he faces a steep climb to be successful in his proxy
battle.
Lions Gate's annual meeting, which was postponed because of
legal wrangling between Icahn and the company, is scheduled to be
held in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
In a recent letter to shareholders, Lions Gate said Icahn and
his slate have "no vision, much less a strategy, for the future" of
the company and they "pose a significant risk to Lions Gate if they
obtain board representation."
Icahn fired back with his own missive.
"The actions of Lions Gate's board speak for themselves as does
the company's and its stock's performance," he said in a statement,
adding, "$100 invested in Lions Gate stock five years ago would be
worth $56 today. If you had put that same $100 into an NYSE
composite index, it would have been worth $117. If you had put it
in my hedge fund, it would be worth $145. If you put it under your
mattress, you at least would have still had your original
$100."
-By Nat Worden, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2472;
nat.worden@dowjones.com
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