Final Three Vie For MGM

Reports today have Time Warner, Lionsgate and the private-equity firm Access Industries as the last companies standing in the bid for the near-bankrupt MGM. The bids are said to range from $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion, with Time Warner as the odds-on favorite to bring the Lion home and consolidate its library of pre-1986 MGM classics with the ailing studio's own catalog -- not to mention to take over the James Bond franchise and sole control of The Hobbit, set to go into production later this year. A decision is expected from MGM's board in "several weeks." [Reuters via THR]