Loud and proud

6 May 2005 By Rob Cox Follow @rob1cox

Campaigns like those at Morgan Stanley and Blockbuster are fueled by latent discontent among a large section of the firms shareholders. But the leading campaigners have found it’s one thing to try ousting a chief executive; quite another to propose oneself as the replacement.

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Carl Icahn, the financier who recently raised a new hedge fund, challenged the management of Blockbuster, the videorental chain, on an investor call on Thursday over strategy.

Icahn, who has put forward three directors, including himself, for election to the board at next Wednesday's annual meeting, was eventually cut off from the call.

Icahn is pressing chief executive John Antioco to gear up the company, pay a big dividend and solicit offers for a buyout. Antioco is attempting to make Blockbuster more competitive with emerging home entertainment services like Netflix and VideoonDemand.

Icahn, who owns about 9% of the stock, also objects to a pay package awarded to Antioco last year, which he claims is worth more than $50m.

If Icahn succeeds in his campaign to replace three Blockbuster directors with his slate of nominees, Antioco would no longer sit on the board, and has said he would resign.

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