• by Wayne Friedman , March 19, 2010

After a year of somewhat less hostile moves against Lionsgate, billionaire investor Carl Icahn is now looking at an all-out takeover of the company, buying all shares in a $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion offer.

This extends his offer made last month to increase his stake from 19% to 30% for the company at $6 a share for a total value of just over $700 million. Lionsgate executives rejected his offer as inadequate.

Also last week, company executives instituted a "poison pill" defense, making it tougher for Icahn to buy more of the company. (The independent studio is behind the hit TV series "Mad Men.")

Icahn's main beef? He believes management wants to buy more film libraries, such as the ones from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer or Miramax, which have been under consideration. But such acquisitions, Icahn says, mean pegging future revenue growth of those deals to DVD sales -- a marketplace that has considerably weakened over the last year and a half.

He also complained about the studio's use of its cash, especially when Lionsgate bought the TV Guide Network for $255 million in 2009. Icahn believes shareholders should vote on these kinds of major acquisitions.

In mid-morning trading on Friday, Lionsgate was up 4 cents to just over $6 a share.