On March 17th Carl Icahn offered to buy as much as $325 million dollars in Lions Gate Entertainment convertible debt at a discount of at least 25 percent to its face, or par value. Convertible debt or convertible bonds are a type of bond that gives investors additional protection in the capital structure, while also offering the ability to convert into common stock in the underlying company. Icahn, who already owns 14.50 percent of Lions Gate’s common equity, is offering 75 cents on the dollar for $150 million of 2.94 percent convertible notes due payable in 2024, and 73 cents on the dollar for $175 million of 3.63 percent convertible notes due payable in 2025. Icahn’s maximum return equates to the bonds face-value or par-value which is $1.00 and the interest payments each year. On the convertible note yielding 2.94 percent, Icahn can earn up to 77.4 percent in total, while on the 3.63 percent note he can earn 94.98 percent in total. Additionally, loading up on the convertible notes will give Icahn further leverage over Lions Gate Entertainment as he attempts to gain representation on the board of directors. Recently, Lions Gate has hired Morgan Stanley (MS) and law firm Wachtell, Liption, Rosen and Katz as an advisory team to defend against Carl Icahn and a potential proxy battle. Carl Icahn owns 16,791,125, or 14.50 percent of Lions Gate Entertainment with an average cost basis of $6.82 per share, while his former chief investment adviser, Mark Rachesky, controls 22.8 million shares or an additional 19.7 percent of Lions Gate. Carl Icahn also has activist positions in Yahoo! (YHOO), Biogen Idec (BIIB), and Enzon Pharmaceuticals (ENZN). As of mid-afternoon March 18th Lions Gate were trading for $5.32 per share

"> Shamrock Capital sent a letter to Collectors Universe (CLCT) strongly recommending that the company immediately being a process to sell the company. In the letter Shamrock said “We believe the company’s core business of providing value added authentication services is an attractive business and far more valuable than implied by its current stock price of $3.37 per share. Our analysis concludes that the intrinsic value of Collectors Universe is at least $7 per share” Collectors Universe has $2.52 in cash, zero debt, and provides authentication services on various collectibles. On March 16th Collectors Universe announced that Chief Executive Officer Michael Haynes will depart as of April 1, 2009 to “pursue other opportunities”. The departure of the CEO may give Shamrock additional leverage in attempts to sell the company.

On March 10th Centennial Energy Partners sent a letter to the board of GMX Resources (GMXR) expressing concerns with the “precipitous decline in GMX’s share price in recent weeks” Centennial Energy is also calling on GMX Resources to put itself up to sale, and to being a formal process to review additional strategic options. GMX Resources is a mid-sized oil & gas company focused principally in the Haynesvill-Bossier Shale in East Texas. Insiders and directors of GMX Resources own approximately11% of all shares outstanding. As of mid-afternoon March 18th GMX Resources were trading for $8.02 per share

On March 10th, Knowledge Learning Corporation, a business controlled by former junk bond financier Michael Milken formally offered to buy Nobel Learning Communities (NLCI) for $13.50 per share in cash, equating to $141.2 million dollars. George Bernstein the CEO of Nobel Learning called the offer “extremely disappointing” citing the lack of a substantial premium to Nobel’s closing price. As of mid-afternoon March 18th GMX Resources were trading for $8.02 per share

PHH Corporation (PHH), who operates as mortgage and fleet outsourcing service in the United Sates, is substantially undervalued based on the fact that it is currently trading at 46$ of its tangible book value. In accounting terms, a company’s book value represents its total assets minus intangible assets and liabilities. In addition, Pennant Capital believes the fair value of PHH is in excess of $40 per share, or almost 350% higher than its current market price, citing the fact that the market has little confidence in the board of directors and current management. As of mid-afternoon March 18th PHH were trading for $13.20 per share