TORONTO - Billionaire investor Carl Icahn has ramped up his pursuit of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. with a website called "Save Lions Gate."
The move comes after Lions Gate on Friday amended a lawsuit against him intended to halt a proxy battle at the company's Dec. 14 annual meeting.
On the website, a document titled "Why Change is Needed at Lions Gate" outlines some of the reasons why Icahn believes the board at the film company should be replaced. Icahn has been bulking up his position in the boutique studio for more than a year in an attempt to acquire it.
Included in the documents are emails between director Mark Rachesky and vice chair Michael Burns which Icahn suggests demonstrate a leadership team that is unprofessional.
"These are our directors. They are supposed to be safeguarding our assets," Icahn said in a public letter.
"Shareholders, would you want these guys running your family business, let alone Lions Gate?"
Icahn also reiterated his selections for the company's board, which include Jay Firestone, who helped found Alliance Communications which later became Alliance Atlantis.
Lions Gate shareholders are scheduled to vote on the new board at the annual meeting.
The film company adopted a shareholder rights plan in early July to guard against unwanted takeovers like the one Icahn has been pushing.
Lions Gate is based in Canada but operates out of Santa Monica, Calif., and is known for high-profile films like the "Saw" horror franchise and the Oscar-winning movie "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' By Sapphire,"' as well as television hits like "Mad Men."
