Sony buys MGM for nearly $5 billion

Posted Tuesday, September 14, 2004 at 9:11 AM Central

by Tim Briscoe

Sony has finally signed a deal to acquire MGM. The total price tag was put at about $5 billion.

Sony will assume MGM's $1.9 billion in debt and "The Lion" gets a $150 million deposit with the offer which was months in the making.

Time-Warner was in a bidding war with Sony over the studio but pulled out, refusing to pay over $11 per share. Sony's bid was $12 per share -- a total of $2.94 billion.

Sony, also the owner of Sony Pictures and Columbia TriStar, receives control of MGM's immense library of 4,100 films. The catalog's crown jewels are the James Bond and Pink Panther franchises.