Lionsgate, Movie Studio | featured news

Bringing Hollywood's two biggest independent film studios and the blockbuster young adult franchises "Twilight" and "The Hunger Games" into one powerful entity, Lions Gate Entertainment has agreed to acquire Summit Entertainment for $412.5 million in cash and stock.

Lions Gate Entertainment is close to an agreement to acquire Summit Entertainment, the studio behind the "Twilight" movies, in a deal expected to close as early as this week, according to people familiar with the matter.

Lions Gate has made a merger offer with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, a move that has the backing of Carl Icahn, who has financial interests in both movie studios.

The dance between Carl Icahn and Lionsgate continued Tuesday as reports surfaced that the studio hired a law firm to defend itself against what could turn into a proxy battle or hostile takeover.