Billionaire investor Carl Icahn spent months trying to buy Dynegy (DYN), but the transaction fell apart. There are always more deals though, right? Well, Icahn is now making a bid for Mentor Graphics (MENT).

He is proposing $1.73 billion for the company or $17 per share. In fact, Icahn already has a 14.7% stake. And as should be no surprise, the shares of Mentor are up about 11%.

Lionsgate Entertainment (LGF) posted results for the fiscal third quarter earlier in the week. I would like to be bullish on the numbers, but I realize such emotion isn't in the cards after reading through the press release.

Maybe I should be at least a little considerate about the Q3 loss of 4 cents per share; last year at this time, the loss was 55 cents per share. Problem is, the loss for the nine-month period is 77 cents per share versus a profit of 2 cents per share in the comparable frame. Perhaps I should just focus on the quarter, but I couldn't help noticing what was going on over the longer term. Besides, who wants to see red ink, especially when, according to TheFly, execs couldn't beat Wall Street's expectations?

Chesapeake Energy (CHK - option chain) shares are rising today on news that billionaire investor Carl Icahn has accumulated a 5.8% stake in the company, according to an SEC filing released late Friday. According to the release, Icahn has already made plans to speak to management about ways to maximize shareholder value, as he believes the stock is undervalued. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on CHK.

"In a number of respects, Motorola (MOT) is the quintessential 'special situations' stock; indeed, I like the various investment angles -- company break up, asset sales, buying by a big insider, a re-energized product line," asserts Chuck Carlson.

The editor of The DRIP Investor explains, "The firm is in the midst of a major restructuring, which includes selling off assets and splitting the company into two separately traded entities.

"The breakup, scheduled for next year, will separate the company's handset phone business from its enterprise mobility business.

Lionsgate (LGF) has now produced two hits in a row. The Expendables, starring Sylvester Stallone, was third over the past weekend at domestic theaters, according to early estimates at Box Office Mojo. After completing its third weekend in the marketplace, the movie has generated over $80 million so far in total. Not bad, although it must take in more dollars to break even, as I mentioned last week.

More impressively, The Last Exorcism nabbed the top spot. It captured $21.3 million over the last three days. At the time of this writing, though, the second-place film, Sony's (SNE) Takers, was credited with an even $21 million. Once final figures are available later on, it's possible the rankings could change.

The Motorola, Inc. (MOT) story is a complicated one. There are a number of catalysts, however, which could make the shares a bargain at current levels.

In early 2011, the company is expected to be broken up into two distinct entities. Motorola Mobility, which will include the mobile devices business, and Motorola Solutions, which will consist of the networks and enterprise mobility businesses.

Lionsgate Entertainment (LGF) is hoping it can dominate the upcoming weekend box-office race. And if it can't dominate, then it at least wants to come as close to dominating as possible.

The bottom line: it can't put in a mediocre performance -- and it most definitely cannot fail. It will release a movie this Friday called The Expendables. As the Los Angeles Times makes clear, it's a pretty important event for the studio.

Motorola Inc. (MOT) is up nearly 6% today, with traders cheering a report that activist investor Carl Icahn has beefed up his stake in the telecom stock. A filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revealed that Icahn purchased 10.2 million additional shares of MOT recently, bringing his total investment in the handset maker to 232.2 million shares, or nearly 10% of the total outstanding shares.

Lions Gate Entertainment (LGF) was downgraded to a hold rating this week, according to our Analyst Calls piece. It's no longer a buy, says Jefferies, because Carl Icahn's tender offer is now expired.

If you ask me, I'd say it was the right call. I don't think the stock is currently appropriate for most investors simply because the whole struggle between Icahn and management leaves little clarity to the situation. Traders and arbitrage players are probably having a field day, but smaller participants would be entering a highly speculative scenario at this point.

Last year at this time, Lions Gate Entertainment (LGF), whose colleagues in the industry include Disney (DIS), Time Warner (TWX), and Viacom (VIA), reported an annual net loss of $1.53 per share. This year, the fiscal loss was 17 cents per share. In fiscal 2008, the loss per share was 74 cents.

I can see why Carl Icahn wants to shake things up and exert control over the board. What is this company's management team doing? Don't these execs enjoy making profits? Enough is enough. The fact that the loss has lessened makes no difference to me.

Lions Gate (LGF - option chain) shares are rising today after activist investor Carl Icahn upped his tender offer for an 81% stake in LGF this morning by 17% to $7 per share. The offer values the company at $825 million. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on LGF.

LGF opened this morning at $6.91. So far today the stock has hit a low of $6.82 and a high of $6.95. As of 12:05, LGF is trading at $6.87 up 0.50 (7.9%). The chart for LGF looks bullish.

Well, it's finally happened. Someone wants to buy Lions Gate Entertainment (LGF). However, it's not the head of a big media conglomerate who has an eye on the movie studio. Instead, it's famed activist investor Carl Icahn.

Of course, I'm sure you know all that by now. How can anyone have missed the drama surrounding the situation? There are a ton of news reports out there covering the topic, so let me simply bring you up to date with a link to an open letter from Icahn to Lions Gate, and a link to management's response. It makes for wonderful reading.

Lions Gate Entertainment (LGF - option chain) shares are rising this morning after activist investor Carl Icahn announced a hostile takeover bid for the company. LGF had rejected his offer to take a larger stake in the company earlier in the week. He had made a tender offer of $6 per share, which he declined to raise this morning. A bid like this will usually create a floor for a stock's price, which can make an options trade with a bullish stance safer. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on LGF.

LGF opened this morning at $6.24. So far today the stock has hit a low of $5.86 and a high of $6.32. As of 12:15, LGF is trading at $60.01 up 0.04 (0.7%). The chart for LGF looks bullish.

As the court battle for control of a trio of Atlantic City casinos between Carl Icahn and Donald Trump heats up, one question is coming into focus: How much is Donald Trump's name on the top of a casino worth?

Trump argues that giving him control of the company is the best move, in part because his name is such a big draw. Icahn counters that the main disadvantage to losing the Trump name would be the cost of changing the signs.

Burn!

Since Carol Bartz was announced as the incoming CEO of Yahoo! (YHOO) on Jan. 13, 2009, shares of the Internet giant have risen from $12.10 per share to their current price of $16.70 -- a gain of 38% in a little less than a year, and a nice rebound from what had been a multiyear tailspin for shareholders, but still lagging significantly behind peers.

So how does Bartz rate her performance? In an interview with Bloomberg, she gave herself a B-, saying that "It was a little tougher internally than I think I had anticipated. I did move fast, but this is a big job."