Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, better known as “Metro” or MGM by its acronym, has put up the “For Sale” sign. The well-known enterprise, which has two branches of production and distribution, explore selling to great service diffusion. A very interesting offer, due to the quantity and the quality of the franchises which are kept behind the doors of their studio.
MGM and the coronavirus crossroads
From Variety they echo the material, where MGM contacted Morgan Stanley and LionTree to explore a sale. According to the publication, this private equity firm (that is, it is not publicly traded) is valued at $ 5.5 billion, including debt. The coronavirus pandemic is playing a crucial role in the sale, which has been brewing for some time.
MGM aspires to power put the company at the service of diffusion, since it does not have its own platform. In recent years they have been released several proposals wishing to expand the offer, among which Xfinity, Peacock, Disney +, HBO Max or Apple TV + stand out. And, at the same time, a regrouping of the audiovisual sector is underway to face new challenges.
Production companies and distributors who do not have their own department face serious problems in selling their productions. While Disney has chosen to launch its premieres in a rental format or included in your subscription with different results, others do not have this option. That’s how Apple got its hands on Sony’s Greyhound, one of last summer’s hits.
MGM is in a similar position, where it has very attractive franchises that have no way out. With closed cinemas or with reluctant audiences to the crowds in the theater, the only possible outcome is the sale of the production. Or the company itself.
A very succulent library even for Apple
Disney bought Fox, Comcast from Sky, AT&T from Time Warner, and Viacom merged with CBS, so the rest of players the mediums are in a sort of limbo. They are not big enough like to create your own department nor small to be an easy target of acquisition. MGM is here, albeit with a very succulent catalog.
Currently, MGM has a series of very attractive franchises in its hands: James Bond, The Handmaid’s Tale, Rocky and Vikings. Some older ones include The Pink Panther, A Legally Blonde, RoboCop, and the Stargate saga. During this year, Apple has shown interest in the latest installment of Agent 007, which has yet to be released. James Bond’s “No Time to Die” was originally slated for release in April 2020. But the pandemic has forced it to be postponed until November 12, and now it looks like it will hit theaters on April 2, 2021.
If Apple finally bought James Bond, would we stop seeing 007 with a Sony Xperia and switch to an iPhone?
At the start of the year, before the pandemic hit China and later spread around the world, a sale of the entire franchise to Netflix or Apple was already being considered. The affair cooled, to return in the form of rumors. In October we learned that Apple had come to offer $ 400 million for the film, meeting the refusal of MGM. Based on the information we saw at the time, the production company believed that the amount was small.
With the sell sign, MGM now aspires to sell itself entirely to a diffusion. We don’t know Apple’s plans in this regard, but Cupertino’s interest would be more likely to be more granular than total. Unique films, series or franchises before the whole company.
It would certainly not be a problem of money. With a price tag of $ 5.5 billion or more, it would already be Apple’s largest acquisition, nearly twice the size of Beats. Complexity arises when taking over an entire business, with its staff, its agreements and its corporate culture, which do not always find an easy match with a matrix from a completely different sector. Therefore, full acquisition is unlikely.
