Old Bond, Rocky Reruns NOT worth $5B, $3B, $2B? Sony Bagholder
(Texas Pacific Group and Providence Equity Partners screwed)
Time Warner Withdraws Bid for MGM
Monday September 13, 12:34 pm ET
Time Warner Withdraws All-Cash Bid for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Saying It Couldn't Agree on Price
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Time Warner Inc. has withdrawn its all-cash bid for movie studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, saying it could not agree on a price. The decision leaves Sony Corp. as the sole remaining bidder for MGM's lucrative film library, although no sale is certain. "As we pledged to our shareholders, we approach every potential acquisition with strict financial discipline," Time Warner chairman and chief executive Dick Parson said Monday. "Unfortunately, Time Warner could not reach agreement with MGM at a price that would have represented a prudent use of our growing financial capacity." Time Warner has never revealed how much its offer was worth. MGM said earlier this month that media reports valuing MGM at a price as high as $5 billion were inaccurate. MGM declined to comment on Time Warner's statement. Shares in MGM were up 31 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $11.42 in midday trading Monday on the New York Stock Exchange.
Time Warner pulls MGM bid -Sony "clear" to pursue its new offer
By Luisa Beltran, Sept. 13, 2004
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) - Time Warner said Monday it pulled out of the bidding for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, paving the way for Sony Corp. to buy the film studio after it raised its offer to $5 billion over the weekend. Richard Parsons, Time Warner CEO, said the media conglomerate had withdrawn its offer for MGM. Time Warner had reportedly been offering about $11 a share, or between $4.5 billion to $4.6 billion. "Unfortunately, Time Warner could not reach agreement with MGM at a price that would have represented a prudent use of our growing financial capacity," Parsons said in a statement Monday. "We are confident that there are other capital allocation choices that will enable us to continue to build shareholder value." Shares of Time Warner gained 20 cents to $16.71 in mid-day trading Monday. MGM's stock added 23 cents to $11.34. Over the weekend, Time Warner (TWX: news, chart, profile) had warned the movie studio that it would pull out if MGM (MGM: news, chart, profile) did not accept its offer in the next few days, according to a story in the Wall Street Journal Monday. Sony has raised its offer for MGM to $5 billion, around $12 a share, in order to beat Time Warner's offer, according to the report.
MGM, the movie studio that made the "Wizard of Oz," has been in talks with bidders for several months. Calls to MGM and Time Warner were not immediately returned. Sony's offer is backed by two private equity firms, the Texas Pacific Group and Providence Equity Partners. A Texas Pacific spokesman declined comment Monday
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