MGM signs $250 Million Agreement to take over Polygram Film Library

Only two days after going back into discussions with The Seagram Company Ltd. about the rights to the extensive Polygram Filmed Entertainment (PFE Library), MGM today announced that an agreement has been signed to take over Polygram’s film library for $250 Million.
Negotiations had come to a complete standstill little more than a week ago when MGM found Polygram’s terms unacceptable and were picked up for a new try on Tuesday.

With the completion of this acquisition, MGM will now own the largest film
library in the world currently, comprising approximately 5,200 titles,
including over half of all Hollywood studio films produced since 1948. The PFE
Library consists of over 1,300 titles, including such Academy Award winners as
Fargo, The Graduate, Dead Man Walking, My Left Foot, The Crying Game, Usual Suspects, and Kiss of the Spider Woman, along with other acclaimed titles such as Four Weddings and a
Funeral and Room With a View. The PFE Library includes the Epic library (including When Harry Met Sally and City Slickers), the Island/Atlantic library (including Baghdad Cafe) and the Virgin/Palace library (including Sex, Lies and Videotape).

Both companies have committed to the negotiation and execution of a definitive purchase agreement as soon as possible, but the final completion of the acquisition is subject to Seagram’s acquisition of PolyGram, regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

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