Struggling Studio MGM Says It's Looking For Buyer

RYAN NAKASHIMA

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Struggling movie studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is looking for a buyer.

The home of the James Bond and Pink Panther franchises said Friday it has begun to explore strategic options including "a potential sale of the company."

In a statement, MGM also said its lenders have agreed to grant the company another respite until Jan. 31 from interest payments on nearly $4 billion in debt.

The decision, reversing its refusal to sell a year ago, came during a conference call Friday between restructuring expert Stephen Cooper, now MGM's vice chairman, and the 140 lenders owed some $3.7 billion in bonds maturing in mid-2012, according to a person close to the situation.

The person was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The lenders agreed to seek outside investors for a new partnership, investment or sale of part or all of the company. Its most valuable asset is its library of 4,000 movie and TV-show titles including such as "Rocky" and "Dances With Wolves." It also owns subsidiary United Artists, headed by Tom Cruise, whose film "Valkyrie" grossed a respectable $200 million worldwide after its release last year.