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MGM: On the Block, Again MGM’s private equity owners are shopping it for $5.2 billion, but the fabled studio faces skeptical bidders and a ticking clock on its credit line

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MGM: On the Block, Again MGM's private equity owners are shopping it for $5.2 billion, but the fabled studio faces skeptical bidders and a ticking clock on its credit lineby Ronald Grover BW ExclusivesThe fabled MGM studios, which seems to have had more owners than its James Bond character has had lady friends, is on the block once more. The studio, currently owned by a consortium that includes private equity funds and cable giant Comcast (CMCSA), has asked Goldman Sachs (GS) to sound out potential suitors, according to two sources with knowledge of the process. The asking price—said to be $5.2 billion—is considered hefty for a company that has had few hits and recently jettisoned one of its two top filmmaking executives.Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer refused to comment. But those with knowledge of the overtures say the company has asked Goldman, which advised the studio when it was last sold in 2004, to focus primarily on so-called strategic buyers—namely other entertainment companies that would likely fold MGM into existing operations. Among those who are said to have taken a look, and so far passed, is the Mumbai-based Reliance ADA Group, which is reportedly in the final stages of providing $500 million in funding to ...