Carl Icahn issued his latest offer to entice MGM away from a possible deal with Spyglass chiefs Roger Birnbaum and Gary Barber.

MGM creditors must vote by Friday on whether to accept the bankruptcy plan that would give them virtually complete ownership of the cash-strapped studio and place it under the stewardship of Birnbaum and Barber.

In an unexpected alliance Icahn and his erstwhile corporate nemeses at Lionsgate have been trying to bring about a merger with MGM.

Icahn has made several plays for MGM debt in a bid to prevent control from vesting in the Spyglass partners and in his new offer issued yesterday [27] said he wanted to acquire creditors’ debt at 50 cents on the dollar as long as they blocked the Spyglass deal.

The activist shareholder is understood to own more than $400m of MGM debt. The beleaguered studio owes approximately $4bn.