Skyfall News

More on the ongoing story regarding a possible merger between MGM and Lions Gate from the man trying to take over the latter: “Billionaire Carl Icahn said on Friday that Lions Gate Entertainment Corp, the company he has sought to control in a hostile takeover, has problems and should avoid merging with financially troubled Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.” […]

According to an article in BusinessWeek published yesterday Lions Gate Entertainment Corp has held merger talks with troubled studio MGM. The article states: “No offer has been made, and Vancouver-based Lions Gate won’t be able to move ahead without backing from Icahn, the largest investor with a 32 percent stake, said the person, who requested […]

Spyglass Entertainment and MGM are reportedly in talks to complete a deal before the studio’s fifth debt waiver expires in mid-July. A third of MGM’s debt is now in the hands of a small group of hedge funds who are looking for a pre-packaged bankruptcy in which they would take control. Having agreed to this […]

Bond 23 would come out “in November” if the head of MGM’s Worldwide Motion Picture Group had her way, according to a Reuters news report, although she certainly meant November 2011. One of the charges levelled at MGM is that its older management was just too laid back, while since Mary Parent came on board […]

MGM’s only remaining movie now that Bond 23 and The Hobbit are on hold has been postponed from a November release according to the LA Times. Red Dawn is a remake from the 1980s and the first to be directed by Dan Bradley, second unit director on Quantum of Solace. Although principal photography has already […]

Interesting to read in Business Week that MGM loans are now trading at 43 cents in the dollar, down from 65 cents at the beginning of 2010 and now valuing the company at $1.6 billion, just a shade above Time Warner’s reported bid of $1.5 billion. The studio’s lenders are now in a battle with […]

MGM’s management and creditors are reportedly divided over the best plans to take the troubled studio forward. Hedge funds control a large amount of the studio’s debt and are ignoring Time Warners bid that has been on the table since March. Meanwhile management want to go ahead with a restructuring plan to raise $1 billion. […]

The Wall Street Journal has reported that MGM’s creditors are close to deciding a strategic partner to help steer the troubled studio through its current crisis. Creditors are looking for a partner with experience in the movie business and would replace at least some of MGM’s top brass, including the current CEO. They plan on […]

Lenders agreed to extend the period for debt repayment for a fifth time to allow the troubled studio to arrange its affairs prior to a sale – or more likely now, a pre-packaged bankruptcy.

Following the news last month that Bond 23 had been out on hold indefinitely, MGM’s lenders are expected to vote in favour of yet another debt extension