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MGM Going Up for Sale Soon?

November 12, 2009

In early October, MGM announced that it would not be facing bankruptcy, but now Variety is reporting that the studio may be auctioned off within the next few weeks.

It would mean that a major studio could buy the MGM-UA library while another entity might acquire the logo, and yet another deal could be made for United Artists.

The various equity owners of MGM, including several private equity firms, have already written down their $5 billion acquisition, which closed in 2004.

Any sort of auction would need approval of a two-thirds majority of the bondholders, and a couple of the bondholders insist they have not been contacted as yet, says the trade, which adds that a pre-packaged bankruptcy is still an option.

COMMENTS (13)

Posted by:

Roger, Roger

November 12, 2009

Sad to see this happen, but really, who didn't see it coming? They had massive debt that had to be paid off in like the next year or two--it was basically impossible.

This is what happens when you get owners like Ted Turner and Kirk Kevorkian who don't care at all about the studio's history or future well being, and instead just flat out milk it. MGM/UA has never been able to recover from such terrible management.

I wish you the library and logo would remain together, but it's doubtful. Studios are going to be all over this auction sale. mark my words.

maybe it's just another rumor, and maybe they'll somehow survive like they have in the past, but it's doubtful.

Posted by:

tsfogg

November 12, 2009

so what does this mean for the future of Bond?

Posted by:

Paul Rox

November 12, 2009

What can I buy for about 20 bucks?

Posted by:

Brendon

November 12, 2009

What Does This Mean For The Hobbit As MGM Had The Distribution Rights Oh No My Precious!

Posted by:

Jacob

November 12, 2009

I thought Sony bought out MGM a while back?

Posted by:

Jamie

November 12, 2009

I have 500 dollars, can I have the rights to the Hobbit and the Bond Franchise, you keep the rest.

Posted by:

Roger, Roger

November 12, 2009

In 2005 MGM was bought out by a consortium of investors, one of them being Sony. Sony has a minority stake in the company, something like 20%. I'm not sure what in the hell these investors have been doing, because they were supposed to fix the company, but obviously, things only got worse.

Bond is going to be the key property here, and I imagine studios are going to be fighting for it (including MGM). EON will continue preproduction on Bond 23, and just wait and see what will happen.

The Hobbit will continue preproduction as well, and my guess here is that TimeWarner will go ahead and take over the entire production.

Posted by:

Antidouche

November 12, 2009

Tom Cruise should pack up UA and shut 'er down.

Posted by:

arrowgreen

November 12, 2009

I got 5 bucks in my pocket right now, and it can be yours! Let's talk negotiations.

Posted by:

Kino Hammer

November 12, 2009

It looks like THIS is part of what's holding off the production of the Farrelly Brothers' "Three Stooges" movie, since MGM is the studio involved.