Weinstein offer films to finance debt

The Weinstein Co is close to a deal to restructure its debt and hand over control of more than 200 films from its library to creditors Goldman Sachs and an insurer, an attorney for the studio said on Thursday.

New York-based Weinstein Co — started in 2005 with more than $1 billion in financing arranged by Goldman Sachs — has struggled to produce hit movies, apart from 2009′s “Inglourious Basterds,” and the company has fought to avoid bankruptcy.

The restructuring agreement is expected to be concluded within days, said Bertram Fields, an attorney for the Weinstein Co. Goldman Sachs and insurance company Assured Guaranty Ltd will gain control of 200 to 250 films from the library.

Under the deal, the independent film studio run by brothers Bob and Harvey Weinstein can reclaim ownership of its films once its debt is paid, and the Weinsteins will retain control of about 150 films in their library, Fields said.

The Weinsteins started the independent studio after they left the Walt Disney Co, where they had run the Miramax Films unit, a company they founded in 1979.

The Weinsteins, in partnership with billionaire Ron Burkle, recently sought to buy back Miramax from Disney and obtained an exclusive negotiating window, but those talks hit a roadblock and other bidders moved in.

By Alex Dobuzinskis for Reuters. More info:abcnews.go.com