JAMES BOND - AUCTION FOR MGM REPORTEDLY NEAR

AUCTION FOR MGM REPORTEDLY NEAR

MGM's creditors have rejected a proposal to turn their $3.7 billion in loans to the company into equity as part of a restructuring plan to keep the studio out of bankruptcy, BusinessWeek reported today (Wednesday), citing a source with knowledge of a November 4 meeting between the creditors committee and MGM CEO Stephen Cooper. Instead, two days after the meeting, they asked Cooper to seek a buyer for the company but were told that it was unlikely that the studio would fetch more than $1.5 billion, roughly what the studio's rights to the James Bond franchise alone might be worth, the magazine said. It noted that several studios are interested in buying MGM -- but not to maintain it as a viable studio. They are interested instead in its film library, the Bond franchise, and MGM's share of the rights to the Lord of the Rings prequel, The Hobbit.

11/11/2009