19th May 2012
Impoverished MGM Sees Possible Light At The End Of Spyglass Offer
16th September 2010
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), the financially troubled
Hollywood studio with nearly $4 billion debts, might have found a
saviour in Spyglass Entertainment Group, the US-based finance and
production company.
According to media reports, Spyglass' founders Roger Birnbaum and
Gary Barber have signed a "letter of intent" to take over the
struggling MGM. They are expected to become MGM's joint
CEOs/chairmen.
They propose to save MGM by converting the debts into equity. This
would require MGM filing for bankruptcy and being recapitalised. It
would also give its creditors an opportunity to own stakes in the
restructured movie giant.
Should MGM agree to the takeover, industry experts predict the
studio will be reduced in size, leading to job cuts.
However, it would also mean that several MGM productions
threatened with cancellation or indefinite postponement will be
given a new lease of life.
Big productions in the pipeline include the next James Bond movie,
and the movie version of JRR Tolkien's classic children's fantasy
The Hobbit.
The latter is expected to involve Peter Jackson, who directed The
Lord of the Rings trilogy, also based on another Tolkien
masterpiece.
Spyglass is famous for its production and co-productions of movies
like Bruce Almighty, Seabiscuit, The Sixth Sense, and Dinner For
Schmucks.