Sahara says MGM studio creditors reject $2 billion bid

LOS ANGELES: Indian conglomerate Sahara India Pariwar says that its offer to buy out the creditors of struggling Hollywood studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc for more than $2 billion has been rejected.

Subrata Roy Sahara, the company's chairman, had a conference call with creditors on Tuesday. The company said late yesterday that the offer was rejected within hours.

A spokesman for Houlihan Lokey, an investment bank that is advising MGM's creditors, declined to comment.

MGM's creditors are owed around $4 billion. They are negotiating a restructuring plan for the studio that could include a prepackaged bankruptcy.

MGM has rights to the James Bond franchise and owns half of the upcoming movies based on J R R Tolkien's "The Hobbit."