Lions Gate Suspends Quarterly Dividend As It Waits To Close $4.4 Bln Starz Deal

Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. said late Thursday it will suspend is quarterly cash dividend immediately as it waits to close its merger with Starz . Lions Gate entered an agreement back in June to buy Starz for $4.4 billion. The company's previous quarterly dividend was 9 cents per share, paid Aug. 5. Shares of Lions Gate are down more than 35% in the year to date, underperforming the S&P 500 Index , which is up more than 6%.