EON Productions deny involvement with Sahara in bid for MGM

EON Productions, producer of the James Bond movies, said it isn’t involved in Sahara India Pariwar’s bid for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., the debt-laden Los Angeles film studio reports Bloomberg.

“EON Productions tonight confirmed they have never had any contact with Sahara India Pariwar and are in no way involved in the Sahara India Pariwar bid for MGM,” spokeswoman Stephanie Wenborn said in a statement.

London-based EON, co-owner of the Bond franchise with MGM, is run by Barbara Broccoli and her stepbrother, Michael G. Wilson.

Sahara India, based in Lucknow, offered $2 billion for MGM’s more than $3.7 billion in debt, the Associated Press reported on Sept. 17.

MI6 Note: The allegations about EON's involvement in the bid started via follow-up stories in the Indian press about Sahara's bid for MGM, and quickly spread to media and financial blogs, and Bond fan sites who all ran the story unchecked. Bloomberg previously reported that "Broccoli and Wilson are part of the Sahara India offer and would receive an undisclosed equity stake in MGM if it succeeds, said the person, who sought anonymity because the discussions are private. It wasn’t clear whether Broccoli and Wilson would have a management role in the Los Angeles-based studio, the person said." EON previously declined to comment.

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