On November 12, 2009, MGM announced it was "beginning a process to explore various strategic alternatives including operating as a standalone entity, forming strategic partnerships and evaluating a potential sale of the company." Alternatives the company was exploring included the sale of the company or merger with another media firm, or an asset auction, which could have included the sale of its 4,000-title film and television library, the company logo, rights to the "James Bond" franchise, and half-ownership in the three "Hobbit" films. The studio also held out the possibility of gaining a large influx of cash from new investors, although industry analysts believed that alternative was unlikely to happen. Some industry analysts said sale of the studio could net $1.5 billion to $3 billion. Others pegged the value at between $2 billion to $2.5 billion. Potential buyers included Time Warner (which already owned the pre-May 1986 MGM library, had enough cash reserves, and co-produced the "Hobbit" films with MGM), Qualia Capital (a private equity fund led by Hollywood producer Amir Malin), 20th Century Fox (MGM's home entertainment distributor), and Lionsgate.