James Bond’s biggest foes weren’t legions of hungry women, social diseases, or any of his myriad supervillains and rival spy organizations. James Bond’s biggest foe has been debt, specifically MGM’s debt. However, it looks as though MGM may be saved as power broker Carl Icahn and company have brokered a deal with Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum of Spyglass Entertainment to restore the company’s flagging fortunes and keep MGM in the movie business.
Icahn originally tried to force a merger between MGM and Lionsgate Entertainment, only to find that measure rebuffed by the other holders of MGM’s staggering $4 billion dollars in debt. That means Bond 23 is back on, as soon as possible. The studio aims to bring in $500 million dollars in financing, then resume churning out profitable franchises. The studio is currently owned by three hedge funds and Sony, who bought in primarily to win the HD format war using MGM’s back catalog of 4,100 movies.
Tags: MGM, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, James Bond, Carl Icahn, Lionsgate Entertainment, Gary Barber, Roger Birnbaum, Spyglass Entertainment, bankruptcy, MGM saved from collapse, Bond 23,