Closing in on MGM deal?

Frankly, I wasn't sure I'd be alive to see the studio's financial troubles get resolved. I still don't know if I'll make it through the completed contract. I mean, haven't they been working on a restructuring since Nixon left office? But, the WSJ does offer hope, reporting that Spyglass Entertainment's co-heads Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum are nearing a deal to run the movie company. An announcement could come this week.

Messrs. Barber and Birnbaum would run MGM as co-chief executives when the studio exits a streamlined bankruptcy later this year under the plan. A group of hedge funds who now control the company's fate have identified the pair as their best choice for reversing the ailing studio's fortunes. Inder the plan, Spyglass would merge parts of its film library with the MGM library. Spyglass would receive a 4% ownership stake in the reorganized MGM, the people said. Creditors would forgive all of MGM's debt for the bulk of the restructured studio's new equity, they said.

With the Miramax sale having been completed, that only leaves the ongoing kerfuffle between Lions Gate and Carl Icahn.