MUMBAI: MGM studios has decided to request a sixth postponement of its $250 million principal payment and $200 million-plus in owed interest.

Lenders who hold nearly $4 billion in the debt are expected to agree to the extension though nothing is guaranteed yet. 

The studio will formally request the latest extension a week before the 15 July deadline. That could give the studio at least several additional weeks to bring out financial details of its corporate restructuring.

Meanwhile, speculation continues about whether the studio will sell off its share of rights to co-production partner Warner Bros., whose New Line is overseeing project development. MGM executives would like to hold onto its share of the Hobbit rights as long as possible.

MGM is being run by an office of the CEO, with restructuring specialist Stephen Cooper, film chief Mary Parent and CFO Bedi Singh collaborating as co-CEOs.

MGM owners Providence Equity, TPG Capital, Sony, Comcast, DLJ Merchant and Quadrangle could lose their equity positions in any restructuring, which likely would involve a prepackaged bankruptcy filing.

Before its restructuring talks, MGM had held an auction that drew a handful of underwhelming offers to buy the studio outright.