Icahn to Exit Lionsgate Den

Activist investor Carl Icahn ended his three-year on-again off-again battle with Lionsgate, moving to sell his entire stake in the movie studio and production giant and drop all outstanding litigation against the company for about $309 million.

Based in Santa Monica, Calif. And Vancouver, B.C., Lionsgate is known for its box office hits like the Saw series as well as for producing several cable stalwarts like Mad Men, Weeds and Nurse Jackie.

Icahn, who made his fortune buying stock and debt from troubled companies, first began acquiring large blocks of Lionsgate shares in 2008, growing that stake through a series of tender offers to about 44.2 million, or 33.2% of its outstanding shares. Along the way Icahn has been a vocal critic of the company and its management, criticizing them for failed box office ventures, calling Lionsgate's 2009 purchase of TV Guide Network a mistake and attempting to merge the studio with his interests in rival MGM.

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