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:
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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.
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