James Bond studio MGM in talks with Netflix and Apple for potential buy out

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the studio which co-owns the Bond movies, has reportedly been courting Netflix and Apple over a potential acquisition deal.

The streaming studio and the tech giant, which has now moved full steam into original content broadcast and production, are said to be among those in 'preliminary talks' to buy MGM, one of Hollywood's oldest studios.

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MGM was brought out of near bankruptcy in 2010 by a consortium of investors, and according to CNBC, which first reported the talks, it has vast content library worth around $10 billion, made up of the Bond movie catalogue as well as everything from the Rocky films to Mad Max.

As well as the MGM catalogue, it also owns the catalogues of studios like United Artists and Orion Pictures, while in recent years, it signed deal with Annapurna Pictures and George Clooney's Smokehouse Pictures.

MGM also brought the critically acclaimed The Handmaid’s Tale to screens via its TV arm and the streaming platform Hulu in the US.

Neither Netflix or Apple have commented on the reports.

But it follows recent remarks from Barbara Broccoli, the co-owner of Eon Productions, the studio which makes the Bond movies, that it could potentially move into the streaming sphere.

She told Variety earlier this month: “We make these films for the audiences. We like to think that they’re going to be seen primarily on the big screen.

“But having said that, we have to look to the future. Our fans are the ones who dictate how they want to consume their entertainment.

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“I don’t think we can rule anything out, because it’s the audience that will make those decisions. Not us.”

But it could be a valuable brand going forward too, with Bond movies still impressively profitable.

Skyfall made $1.1 billion at the box office, while Spectre made $880 million worldwide.

The latest Bond movie, No Time To Die, will land in the UK on 2 April.

Starring Rami Malek, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, Rory Kinnear, Jeffrey Wright, Léa Seydoux, Christoph Waltz, Lashana Lynch, and Ana de Armas, it will be Daniel Craig's last performance as Bond.