Lions Gate Entertainment Corp’s largest investor, Mark Rachesky, has thrown his support behind the film and television studio, as it tries to fend off advances from his former boss, Carl Icahn.
Rachesky’s MHR Fund Management LLC, which controls a 19.999 percent stake in Lions Gate, said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday that it is “principally supportive” of the media company’s “management and their publicly stated strategies.”
The fund said it has had preliminary talks with Lions Gate about nominating a candidate to the Hollywood studio’s board. MHR added it may also talk to Lions Gate about “matters that may facilitate implementation of MHR’s investment strategies and objectives.”
Icahn controls 14.5 percent of Lions Gate shares and is seeking to boost his influence over the company by offering to buy $325 million worth of its convertible notes. If Icahn successfully buys the debt and converts it all into equity, his stake would double to about 28 percent to 29 percent.
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