Company Town

Studios: The decision to sell the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio is now in the hands of the French government, said an executive of Lazard Freres & Co., the advisor to the studio’s government-run owner. Lazard made its recommendations to MGM’s owner, Consortium de Realisations, on conditions for the studio’s sale, said the Paris-based executive, who declined to be named. CDR and the government may announce a timetable for the sale in coming weeks, he said. MGM was part of Credit Lyonnais, a French state-owned bank, and is now part of CDR, a firm set up by the government to manage and sell Credit Lyonnais’ unprofitable assets.