Sony-led group to buy MGM for $5 billion

LOS ANGELES (AP) A consortium led by Sony has agreed in principle to acquire famed Hollywood studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for nearly $5 billion, MGM said.
Sony was already owner of Columbia Picture. Hollywood is slowly becoming Japanese...

Acquiring MGM's vast library of more than 4,100 films boosts the content Sony can now offer on DVD and on portable devices, many of which Sony makes. Sony also announced in a statement that it has reached a distribution deal with Comcast, the nation's largest cable provider, that would allow video on demand and new cable channels featuring Sony and MGM content.
Sony has agreed to pay $12 a share for MGM, or about $2.94 billion cash -- a 4 percent premium over MGM's closing price of $11.55 Monday on the New York Stock Exchange. The deal also calls for Sony to assume about $1.9 billion in MGM debt.