MUMBAI: Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner’s partnership company with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios – United Artists Entertainment LLC (UA) has secured $500 million in financing through Merrill Lynch.

The arrangement provides the studio with financing for the production of 15 to 18 films over the next five years..

UA’s slate will include a combination of films it develops itself, films that are co-produced or co-financed with other major studios or independent partners, and films that may be acquired through negative pickups or other distribution agreements. The studio expects to release four to six films annually, with green-light authority continuing to vest in UA co-owners Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner, who also serves as the studio’s chief executive officer.

The financing is effective immediately and will cover two UA film projects already in the works — Lions for Lambs and Valkyrie. Directed by Academy Award winning director Robert Redford and starring Redford, Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise, Lions for Lambs will be released in the US and abroad on 9 November, 2007.

Valkyrie, a WWII thriller directed by Bryan Singer, with Tom Cruise leading an international cast that includes Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Carice Van Houten, Eddie Izzard, and Terrence Stamp, is currently filming in Germany and will be ready for release in the summer of 2008.

“The closing of this financing is an important milestone for the new United Artists. It leaves us perfectly poised to realize our vision of making movies that are both important and commercial. We are fortunate to have a team of talented executives who know how to nurture and develop a slate with ingenuity as well as financial discipline, and we’re buoyed by the enthusiasm of our friends throughout the international film community. And, of course, Tom and I greatly appreciate the support we’ve received from Merrill Lynch and MGM,” said Wagner.

MGM chairman and CEO Harry E. Sloan added, “We are pleased that this new United Artists financing arranged by Merrill Lynch supports the MGM model, providing a solid foundation for its production while also creating a pipeline of high quality films for worldwide distribution by MGM. We are also pleased to see such strong support from Wall Street for Tom and Paula and their team, which has enabled us to close this significant transaction within nine months of launching a new UA.”