Scott brothers eyeing MGM? (FT)
By Nancy Tartaglione
While the Miramax auction has brought two sets of brothers to the fore, the MGM saga may now have its own set of siblings circling. The Financial Times reports that Tony and Ridley Scott have emerged as surprise candidates to steer the studio back to solvency after submitting a restructuring plan to the studio's lenders.
The brothers have expressed interest in running MGM, people familiar with the situation told the FT. The paper said it was unclear whether their proposal would involve combining the brothers' Scott Free with MGM, or if they are seeking a stake in the recapitalized studio.
Thus far, two offers have come in for MGM - one from Time Warner at $1.5 billion and the other from Russian billionaire Len Blavatnik who has proposed a restructuring deal that would include cash. Earlier this week, it was reported that Ryan Kavanaugh's Relativity Media had offered to finance the studio's films with a $500 million fund.
Creditors, who were seeking offers in the $2 billion range, are said to be leaning instead towards a debt-for-equity swap and an injection of new capital to create a standalone company.
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