American billionaire financier Carl Icahn has an option to nominate candidates for the board of Blockbuster Inc. in an attempt to take the company under control as soon as next year.

Icahn said he had raised his stake at the company to 9.7% of Blockbuster’s Class A shares from 9.18%. He also added that the three candidates for Blockbuster’s board will be nominated for the election that takes place at next month’s annual meeting.

Mr. Icahn noted that the company’s chief executive John Antioco «is on a spending spree with shareholders’ money.»

"Our goal is to build long-term shareholder value," said Blockbuster’s spokesman.

The three candidates for the chairs are expected to come closer to Icahn’s attempts to take control over the company that received much criticism from the shareholders recently. If elected, the members will do their best to urge the board to give bigger dividends to the shareholders, he said.