Carl Icahn must be smiling right now. After engaging in a bruising battle to take control of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. four years ago, the legendary corporate raider tried, unsuccessfully, to derail the movie studio’s defensive tactics by filing a lawsuit.
But on Thursday, Icahn finally got a measure of satisfaction. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced that one aspect of Lions Gate’s takeover defense didn’t comply with the law after all, and the company will now have to pay $7.5 million to resolve charges that it gave its shareholders misleading information about a major stock transaction that was designed to thwart Icahn.
