Indian firm joins Bond film producers in bid for MGM

A major Bollywood player is working with members of the famous Broccoli film-making dynasty on a possible $2bn (£1.3bn) takeover of debt laden Hollywood studio Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer. Barbara Broccoli and her stepbrother Michael G Wilson are reported to have formed a consortium with Sahara India Pariwar – an Indian conglomerate with more than 30 Bollywood films to its name – as the deadline for the financial restructuring of the famous studio beckons. Sahara, controlled by flamboyant billionaire industrialist Subrata Roy, has offered creditors $2bn for MGM's $3.7bn debts. Talks are said to be at a preliminary stage but the deal would strengthen the growing links between the Indian and US film industries. Both Sahara and the Broccolis, who co-own the James Bond franchise with MGM, would receive shares in the LA-based studio if the deal succeeds. However EON Productions, the company controlled by Broccoli and Wilson, has denied having any involvement. MGM has a coveted film library that includes classics such as Gone With The Wind as well as the lucrative James Bond and Pink Panther franchises. In recent years, however, the studio has struggled to create new hits against a backdrop of plunging DVD sales, as consumers increasingly watch films on the internet. MGM fell into the hands of its creditors almost a year ago after defaulting on the huge debts acquired from its takeover by a private equity consortium that included Providence Equity Partners and TPG as well as media companies Sony and Comcas in 2005. A spokesman for Sahara would only confirm the talks taking place: "Discussions are on, but it is too early to comment." Sahara already has extensive media interests ranging from cable TV to film production and cinema chains, with Roy said to be keen to bring Bollywood and Hollywood closer. If Sahara were to win control it would mark a cultural shift not seen in Hollywood since the 80s when Japanese investors flocked to get in on the action with deals such as Sony's $3.4bn acquisition of Columbia Pictures. Reliance Group tycoon Anil Ambani is a backer of Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks Studios. Although MGM's finances are in dire straits, its creditors have other options: a $1.5bn bid from Time Warner was batted away in March as too low while rival Lions Gate Entertainment is also said to be circling. This week they are due to vote on a restructuring that would see MGM's debt converted to equity as part of a merger with Hollywood producer Spyglass Entertainment. In that scenario Spyglass Entertainment joint-chairmen Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum, who produced "The Sixth Sense", would operate the studio and swap the rights to their film library for a 5% stake in the new business. In the spring, EON Productions suspended work on the next instalment in the 007 series blaming uncertainty surrounding MGM's future. EON has made 22 Bond films since 1962 with Broccoli and Wilson succeeding the late Albert "Cubby" Broccoli in 1995. In a statement, EON Productions claimed it had never had any contact with Sahara India Pariwar and was in no way involved in the Sahara India Pariwar bid for MGM. • This article was amended on 22 September 2010 to add the statement from EON Productions.