We may only be a few weeks into 2020, but it appears that it is already time to discuss what could be this year’s biggest media story. It seems that MGM feels that it may finally be time to be courted for a buyout.
MGM was rescued from bankruptcy in 2010 by Anchorage Capital, Highland Capital, and Solus Alternative Asset Management. Since then the hedge funds have sat on the company allowing it to build itself back up. On the television side of things, it now claims hit shows such as The Handmaids Tale and Live PD amongst its biggest hits.
On the film side of the studio, while Sony Pictures distributes the James Bond films, MGM still holds the actual keys to that kingdom. It also holds a gigantic catalog of back titles with some of the biggest films of all time included in The Wizard of Oz and Gone With the Wind.
Now the company is being courted by multiple outlets it seems, but the two that keep coming up are Netflix and Apple. The former, of course, is already in a serious arms race with the likes of Disney and it could definitely use the bolstering to its catalog. As to Apple, it has just entered into content production and this would give it a giant boost to making it a real player in the fame.
There doesn’t seem to be any indication to how soon a sale could happen, or if it even definitely will. It is probably going to find itself being courted pretty hard, though, with everyone needing more content. And there is also the situation of every company needing it just to keep it out of the hands of their competitors.
Settle in, this isn’t going to be quick or easy.
