Another possible suitor has emerged in the Hollywood Entertainment Corp. takeover fray: billionaire Carl Icahn.
Icahn's firms have bought 5.1 million Hollywood shares in the last two weeks, representing an 8.4 percent stake in the No. 2 video rental chain, according to papers filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The move has fueled rumors that Icahn could be poised to enter a bidding war over the company. Three companies have already made bids for Hollywood — a Los Angeles buyout firm and the No. 1 and No. 3 video rental chains, Blockbuster Inc. and Movie Gallery Inc.
Analysts say Icahn also could be positioning himself to benefit from a bidding war without having to enter it.
Ranked No. 21 on Forbes Magazine's list of wealthiest Americans, Icahn, 68, made the bulk of his fortune in the 1980s by buying large stakes of companies steeped in takeover wars and profiting handsomely as the stock soared.
"He could be trying to make a quick buck," said Arvind Bhatia, a home entertainment analyst with Southwest Securities Inc. "But the other possibility is that he wants to get more involved — and he might either side with one of the existing bids, or else come up with another bid, or partner with another financial party."
No one answered calls to Icahn's New York office and home Saturday. A message left at Hollywood's offices was not immediately returned.
In August, buyout firm Leonard Green & Partners offered to buy Hollywood's roughly 60 million shares for $10.25 each.
This month, the bidding got more heated when Blockbuster offered to buy the chain for $11.50 a share, followed soon after by an undisclosed bid by Movie Gallery.
With each new bid, Hollywood's stock has risen. On Friday, the company's shares closed at $12.88 on the Nasdaq Stock Market, up $3 from before the Blockbuster offer.
The Hollywood chain, headquartered in Wilsonville, Ore., has more than 1,920 video stores and 600 Game Crazy locations. Blockbuster has about 9,000 outlets worldwide, while Movie Gallery has about 2,200 rental stores, mainly in rural areas.