Battle for Lions Gate ends with Icahn selling

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Activist investor Carl Icahn is shedding his entire stake in Lions Gate, sending shares of the niche movie studio tumbling in electronic trading.

The sale announced after the market closed Tuesday ends a nearly two-year battle for control, with both sides agreeing to drop all pending lawsuits.

Lions Gate and its next largest investor, Mark Rachesky, will buy back half of Icahn's shares for $7 each, which is about what Icahn spent acquiring his stake in the company.

Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., based in Santa Monica, Calif., said that it has the right to designate one or more parties to purchase Icahn's remaining stake, also at $7 a share.

The studio's shares slid 6 percent, or 45 cents, to $7.07 in aftermarket trading.