NEW YORK – Carl Icahn swooped in with a hostile bid for Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. Friday, a week after the Vancouver-born movie studio blocked the corporate raider’s attempt to take a smaller stake.

Carl Icahn said he’s now seeking to oust top executives at Lions Gate and to replace its board of directors with his own slate, which would include several Canadians to meet Canada’s foreign ownership laws.

In a statement announcing his new bid, the billionaire New York-based financier blasted Lions Gate for implementing a “poison pill” takeover defence to thwart the offer he made a month ago which would increase his stake to 30% from 19% for a price of US$6 a share.

Mr. Icahn said he is now offering US$6 a share for all of its outstanding stock, which he is said is a more than 23% premium from early February when he started boosting his stake in the company by buying shares.

Lions Gate’s shares surged above the offer price to US$6.24 in early trading, but fell back, trading recently at US$6 a share, up US3 cents.

“I am dismayed that Lions Gate's board of directors chose to implement a poison pill and thus deny their shareholders the opportunity to participate in our offer,” Mr. Icahn said. “I believe these tactics serve only to strip shareholders of an opportunity and entrench management. Lions Gate previously criticized our tender offer for being partial. That is no longer the case.”

The new bid from Mr. Icahn comes on the same day bids are due for the auction of film library Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.

Lions Gate, which is incorporated in Canada, but run out of Santa Monica, Calif., is expected to be among a handful of bidders for MGM.

In an interview with the Financial Post last month, Mr. Icahn said that a bid for MGM is too risky because the value of film libraries has been in a steep decline. He said at the time he wasn’t seeking to put Lions Gate on the auction block, a strategy he’s employed many times over the past several decades, including an unsuccessful attempt to push Yahoo! Inc. to accept a takeover by Microsoft Corp.

He said Lions Gate, the studio behind Oscar-winning film Precious and TV show Mad Men, has “a good formula the way it is.”

While Mr. Icahn, who has been pushing for a shakeup at the company for more than a year, has stepped up his verbal assault with his latest offer, it’s unclear whether his chief aim is to thwart an MGM bid and have more sway with Lions Gate management, or if he’s now genuinely pushing for a takeover.

David Bank, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets in New York, said an acquisition by Mr. Icahn is unlikely because the bid probably isn’t sweet enough to sway shareholders, the bulk of whom appear happy with Lions Gate’s current management.

“All of the loyalists would have to revolt and I just don’t think it’s going to work,” he said.

Peter Wilkes, spokesman for Lions Gate, didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment.

In a bid to find a sanctuary from Mr. Icahn’s attack, Lions Gate is believed to have had talks with Canadian officials about incorporating in the United States, where securities laws might make it tougher for an unwanted shakeup.

Mr. Icahn wants the company to remain incorporated in British Columbia.

In his statement Friday, he said he plans to discuss with the Minister of Canadian Heritage commitments he could make, such as keeping Lions Gate as a Canadian incorporated entity for at least five years.

He also said that Lions Gate could sell its Maple Pictures Corp. to Canadians so it can operate independently and continue to qualify for tax credits and other incentives that are restricted to Canadian-controlled corporations.

An end to Lions Gate’s Canadian control could force the company to repay certain tax credits and other incentives it has received.

Mr. Icahn said that risk could be eliminated through agreements reached with the Minister of Canadian heritage.

Since its launch in the mid-1990 by Canadian mining magnate Frank Giustra, Lions Gate has grown to become Hollywood's largest independent movie and television studio.

The company's prize asset is its library of roughly 12,000 motion picture titles and television episodes, which includes The Blair Witch Project, Reservoir Dogs and Dirty Dancing.

jwhitman@nationalpost.com