Live and Let Live: MGM Wins Temporary Deal

According to Reuters News Agency, Hollywood studio MGM, which owns the valuable James Bond franchise and is currently developing a new Hobbit movie, has secured a forbearance agreement with its lenders, which means (in layman's terms) that the studio now has some financial liquidity, and therefore some badly-needed breathing space to try and sort out its major debt problems.

The forebearance agreement, which offers some temporary stability for the studio, lasts until December 15th and will allow MGM to continue discussions with its key lenders to develop a new capital structure and a long-term business plan. It is an interim agreement to allow the studio to defer its interest payments on its estimated $3.7 billion debts. In September MGM also replaced its Chief Executive Harry Sloan with a new team that included a financial 'turnaround' expert.

The news comes as rumours (many of them highly speculative) continue to circulate in Hollywood that MGM may have little choice but to eventually sell its most lucrative asset, the James Bond franchise, in order to stay afloat. However, sources have told the Fan Club that MGM executives are "extremely keen" to avoid this if at all possible.