Does Time Warner need MGM?

MarketWatch – Time Warner wants to help put MGM out of its misery.

Time Warner’s takeover attempt underscores the value of a coveted film library. Does Time Warner need it, though?

MGM possesses a valuable film library, numbering such classics as 12 Angry Men, Birdman of Alcatraz and the James Bond series. But the struggling studio also has a debt load of about $3.7 billion. Is the library worth the debt burden?

AM Report: Google’s China GambleGoogle’s Chinese site has started redirecting search results via Hong Kong, which does not have the same censorship laws that the mainland has, Jason Dean reports from Beijing.
Time Warner has apparently outbid such rivals as Lions Gate Entertainment and billionaire Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries for control of the fabled film company, according to wire-service reports Read AP report.Read Reuters report.

The dollar figures appear to be in the range of $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion.

Time Warner, a huge entertainment and media entity, shows movies regularly on its Home Box Office and other cable-television operations. It could always use more movies to show on its channels.

MGM will take several weeks to assess the quality of the offers.

This is an interesting time in the movie industry. Billionaire investor Carl Icahn is making an unsolicited bid to acquire Lions Gate, which in itself owns an enviable library of assets.

In the past year, News Corp’s Avatar became the biggest-grossing film in history, topping even Titanic. (News Corp. is the parent company of MarketWatch, publisher of this report.)

Perhaps entertainment companies think it is a sound investment to acquire successful properties, such as James Bond. That makes sense. But the risk of amassing all of that debt is a questionable practice.

Keep your browsers pointed to the CommanderBond.net main page and our Discussion Forums for all the latest James Bond news.