Icahn Resigns From Blockbuster's Board

Carl Icahn is stepping down from Blockbuster's board of directors.
By Jeanine Poggi ,

(Blockbuster article updated with stock price.)

NEW YORK (

TheStreet

) -- Billionaire investor

Carl Icahn

is stepping down from

Blockbuster's

(BBI) - Get Report

board of directors, in what could be seen as another sign of the company's fragility.

The news sent shares sinking 2.2% to 44 cents in afternoon trading.

Icahn said in a letter to Blockbuster Chief Executive James Keyes that he was resigning because of Institutional Shareholder Services guidelines regarding the number of directorships a person can hold.

Icahn owns about 16.9% of Blockbuster's Class A shares and about 7.7% of its Class B shares.

Blockbuster has been the center of attention over the last several weeks, starting when the company announced that

fourth-quarter earnings came in significantly lower than expected due to weak holiday sales

.

The company now expects a loss of between $183 million and $193 million.

After that news, the stock lost more than half of its value, but rebounded late last week when reports surfaced that rival

Movie Gallery may file for bankruptcy this week

.

-- Reported by Jeanine Poggi in New York.

RELATED STORIES:

>>Blockbuster Stock on Downward Spiral

>>Market Missing Big Picture on Blockbuster?

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