JSM Financial: Time Warner Inc. believed to be top bidder for MGM.

March 23, 2010 - PRLog -- JSM Financial has been informed that among the serious contenders in the bidding war to purchase MGM are top names such as Time Warner Inc. and Lions Gate Entertainment Corp, as well as billionaire Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries, who have all put in bids of between $1.2 billion and $1.5 billion dollars.

Sources close to the matter have indicated that Time Warner, the world's largest entertainment conglomerate in terms of revenue, has lodged the highest bid so far, and is widely expected to walk away with MGM and its extensive movie library including such classics as the James Bond franchise.

MGM, which is struggling with substantial debt, had initially hoped for much higher bids, JSM Financial has learned, in the region of $2 billion.

In a recent statement the studio which was founded in 1924 said that it had received a number of bids which it intends to review over the next several weeks.

MGM has said that it expects to work with lenders to extend the forbearance time on its bank debt, which was scheduled to end on 31 March as well as seeking a forbearance agreement on its revolving credit which becomes due on 8 April.

JSM Financial’s research indicates that MGM, whose library contains well over 4,000 films, mostly classics, has received a lot of initial interest after the studio said in November 2009 that it was exploring the potential sale of the company, but not all of this has materialized into actual offers.

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