Kerkorian on the prowl for acquisitions

Kirk Kerkorian, who bought and sold MGM three times, is on the prowl for acquisitions in the entertainment business, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal Sunday night, a development that could add a major wild card to the already complex and fast-changing landscape. In an interview with the paper, Jay Rakow, an exec at Kerkorian's investment firm Tracinda Corp., said the billionaire is looking at all types of deals including online film distribution, and in emerging markets. He said Kerkorian has hired MGM's former chief operating officer Charles Cohen to head the search and taken on Raine Group to advise him. There were no particular targets or dollar figures given. Rakow told the WSJ that Kerkorian's investment could include a technology company, a studio or mini-major. Kerkorian last exited MGM and the movie biz in 2005 when he sold the studio for $5 billion to a consortium led by Sony Corp. and including Comcast and private equity firms Providence Equity Partners and Texas Pacific Group. The deal didn't go well for the buyers and debt-laden MGM filed for bankruptcy in 2010. It emerged last year restructured and under new management. But given the high profile of the equity funds that lost their shirts and the large number of debt holders that were burned, its fall rocked the industry and some say is one factor behind the reluctance of Wall Street - private equity and hedge funds in particular -- to invest in Hollywood. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com