The Speed of Light

Argh! Mark one down to premature pronouncing. Variety is reporting that Sony has bagged its quarry (see article). Within hours of Time Warner's withdrawal, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer agreed to an acquisition by Sony:

Sony agreed to pay $12 a share for the studio, which amounts to $2.94 billion plus the assumption of $2 billion in debt. Sony, backed by Texas Pacific Group and Providence Equity Partners, raised its bid over the weekend, triggering Time Warner's withdrawal.

Variety revealed that a key to Sony's increased bid was an arrangement with Comcast to package Sony and MGM content on movie channels and in VOD offerings, in exchange for the option to purchase a minority interest in the combined entity in the future.

Let the commentary commence and watch for news on the integration of the last major independent studio in Hollywood.